Claims
- 1. An automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus for a sample, comprising:
a source of reagent components, reagent selection means for creating a multiplicity of reagent mixes of said reagent components, means for creating a multiplicity of analysis plates wherein each of said analysis plates contains a set format of said reagent mixes combined with said sample, incubation means for promoting growth of crystals in said analysis plates, means for creating an image of said crystals, and computer means for analyzing said images with regard to suitability of said crystals for analysis by x-ray crystallography.
- 2. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said reagent selection means provides a random selection of reagents.
- 3. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said computer means provides a design of reagent mixes and wherein said programmed reagent selection means creates a second multiplicity of mixes of said reagent components utilizing said design of reagent mixes.
- 4. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for creating an image of said crystals is a camera.
- 5. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said random reagent selection means for creating a multiplicity of reagent mixes of said reagent components is a robot system.
- 6. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said means for creating a multiplicity of analysis plates wherein each of said analysis plates contains a set format of said reagent mixes combined with said sample is a robot system.
- 7. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said source of reagent components comprises ninety stock solutions.
- 8. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 5, wherein said ninety stock solutions are divided into five groups.
- 9. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 8, wherein said five groups consist of precipitant, buffer, pH, additive and detergent.
- 10. The automated macromolecular crystallization screening apparatus of claim 1, wherein said analysis plates are part of a ninety-six well plate.
- 11. A method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample, comprising:
randomly selecting reagent components from a set of reagents and creating a multiplicity of reagent mixes of said reagent components, creating a multiplicity of analysis plates wherein each of said analysis plates contains a set format of said reagent mixes combined with said sample, incubating said analysis plates to promote growth of crystals in said analysis plates, creating images of said crystals, analyzing said images with regard to suitability of said crystals for analysis by x-ray crystallography and providing a design of reagent mixes, creating a second multiplicity of mixes of said reagent components utilizing said design, and using said second multiplicity of reagent mixes for automated macromolecular crystallization screening said sample.
- 12. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 11, wherein said step of creating images of said crystals utilizes a camera.
- 13. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 11, wherein said step of randomly selecting reagent components from a set of reagents and creating a multiplicity of reagent mixes of said reagent components utilizes a robot system.
- 14. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 13, wherein said set of reagents comprises ninety stock solutions.
- 15. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 14, wherein said ninety stock solutions are divided into five groups.
- 16. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 15, wherein said five groups consist of precipitant, buffer, pH, additive and detergent.
- 17. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 11, wherein said step of creating a multiplicity of analysis plates wherein each of said analysis plates contains a set format of said reagent mixes combined with said sample utilizes a robot system.
- 18. The method of automated macromolecular crystallization screening a sample of claim 17, wherein said analysis plates are part of a ninety-six well plate.
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/356,184 filed Feb. 11, 2002 and titled “Automated Macromolecular Crystallization Screening with Random Sampling.” U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/356,184, filed Feb. 11, 2002 titled “Automated Macromolecular Crystallization Screening with Random Sampling” is incorporated herein by this reference.
Government Interests
[0002] The United States Government has rights in this invention pursuant to Contract No. W-7405-ENG-48 between the United States Department of Energy and the University of California for the operation of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.
Provisional Applications (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
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60356184 |
Feb 2002 |
US |