Crystallography
Crystallography is the experimental science of determining the arrangement of atoms in the crystalline solids. The University of Queensland's equipment and facilities enable researchers to make breakthrough discoveries and includes the state's only robotic sample storage and retrieval system.
Services
The Protein Crystallisation Facility (PCF) provides access to world-class equipment for protein crystallisation, crystal imaging and expertise to help determine the three-dimensional structure of proteins (or macromolecules) starting from a purified sample.
The facility also uses high-throughput crystallisation techniques for the growth of single crystals of small molecules (drugs, organic and inorganic samples) on the nanoscale using crystallisation robots.
The PCF is able to take on both academic and commercial structural biology and small molecule crystallisation projects. Contact the team before beginning protein expression/small molecule crystallisation, as they can offer advice on construct design, sample quality and sample quantity. They can also advise on protein purification and crystal optimisation.
Depending on the level of user expertise, a facility is available to help with any of the subsequent steps necessary to determine your crystal structure.
Equipment
The facility supports the building of protein crystallisation condition screening experiments by maintaining:
- Commercial conditions screens JSCG, INDEX, ShotGun, PROPLEX, PACT, PEG ION +2, PEGRX 1+2, COMBINED Screens 4 x 24 well Grids.
- 2 x Mosquito liquid handlers: hassle-free setup of crystallisation trials using crystallisation robots, combines speed, accuracy, and high precision pipetting of nanolitre volumes with zero cross-contamination from a disposable tip.
- 2 x RockImagers: fully automated Plate Imagers which will take regular images of experiments, enabling rapid identification of suitable crystallisation conditions, and includes a UV capability to detect protein crystals and offer temperature control at 20ºC and 8ºC.
- The RockMaker software: a comprehensive information management system that manages the entire crystallisation experimentation process, from designing and dispensing to image viewing and analysis.
Workshops
The facility conducts the following workshops for users:
- Introduction to crystallisation condition screening
- Crystal optimisation
- Screening with seeding.
The UQ Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM) coordinates South East Queensland macromolecular crystallography access to the Australian Synchrotron through the Collaborative Access Program. Users have access to MX1 and MX2 beamline time to X-ray data collection.
Contact
Dr Kasun S Athukorala Arachchige
Scientific Officer
Website: Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis (CMM) and Queensland Bioscience Precinct (QBP) Operation
Phone: 0426 063 207
Email: kasun.athukorala@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus
Services
Crystal X-ray crystallography facility tailored for the determination of molecular structures of organic and inorganic compounds of modest molecular weight (typically less than 2000 Da).
Equipment
- Oxford Diffraction Gemini Ultra dual source (Mo and Cu) CCD Diffractometer
- Oxford Cryosystems 800 series cryostream cooler (for low temperature data collection)
Contact
Professor Paul Bernhardt
Website: School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences
Phone: 07 3365 4266
Email: p.bernhardt@uq.edu.au
Location: St Lucia campus