Created 15/12/2021
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ORGANISATION

The CristalO structural biology platform at the Roscoff Biological Station offers techniques and expertise in structural and functional studies of soluble proteins. It is open to the academic and private scientific community.

The CristalO platform is divided into two parts: the crystallogenesis department and the crystallography department. The 1st service concerns the production of crystals from a soluble protein. The identification of the crystallization conditions is done automatically by a crystallization robot. Then there is a manual step of reproduction and optimization of the crystals. The 2nd service is the diffraction of crystals by X-rays, the collection of data, the determination of the 3D structure.

A large number of instruments for sample preparation are available on site (DLS Zetasizer device, CrysCamTM Digital Microscope System automatic camera, Refrigerated chambers, Bruker X8-Proteum type X-ray diffractometer, Crystal Gryphon and Source multidistribution nano-drop robot X-ray microfocus).

The platform offers training for its users through on-site reception and the organization of workshops.

Since January 2019, the crystallography platform has been part of Biogenouest.

    MISSION

    The privileged platform is access to the teams of the Roscoff Biological Station. It is also open to private or public.

    Its mission is to follow and supervise the realization of protein crystallography projects. The terms of collaboration with partners are:

    • Study the feasibility of the project

    • Structure analysis

    • Do or supervise crystallogenesis and crystallography.

    • Provide raw data or process and interpret data

    • Train in methods of crystallization and resolution of structures

    • Equipment maintenance

    • Confidentiality of data and results

    Activity

    • Verification of the sample concentration by Nanodrop assay and of the oligomeric distribution by DLS assay.
    • Search for crystallization condition with the nano drop robot Crystal Gryphon
    • Follow-up of the crystallization with a CrysCam and/or binocular camera
    • Reproduction and manual optimization of crystallization conditions
    • Determination of the storage condition of the crystals in liquid nitrogen
    • X-ray diffraction of the crystals
    • Data collection and processing
    • Phasing and reconstruction of the model of interest

    Our expertise is focused :

    • Soluble proteins
    • Protein complexes including hydrophilic and hydrophobic molecules
    • Protein-protein complexes
    • Protein-nucleic acid complexes
    • Enzyme-substrate

     

    Quality approach

    The platform complies with the ISO 9001 standard:

    • the implementation of protocols
    • administrative management system.