ADVANCED PROTEIN CRYSTALLIZATION FACILITY (APCF) , EIGHT INVESTIGATIONS
Research Area: Macromolecular Crystal Growth
Expedition(s): 3
Principal Investigator(s): ● Lode Wyns, PhD, Free University, Brussels, Belgium
● Sevil Weinkauf, PhD, Technische Universität München,
München, Germany
● Richard Giege, PhD, Center National Research Science,
Strasbourg, France
● Manfred W. Baumstark, MD, University of Frieburg,
Frieburg, Germany
● Fermin Otalora Munoz, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
● Joseph Martial, Université de Liège, Liège, Belgium
● Adriana Zagari, PhD, University of Naples, Naples, Italy
● Willem J. de Grip, PhD, University Nijmegen, Nijmegen,
Netherlands
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
The Advanced Protein Crystal Facility is a specialized microgravity facility offering researchers
several different crystal growth options in a controlled environment enabling undisturbed
nucleation (beginning of chemical changes at discrete points in a system) and growth of
proteins to obtain large crystals for analysis on Earth. Understanding the results obtained from
the crystals can lead to advances in manufacturing and biological processes.
EARTH BENEFITS
Biotechnology and pharmaceutical researchers
carry out the process of protein crystallization in
order to grow large, well-ordered crystals for use in
X-ray diffraction studies. However, on Earth, the
protein crystallization process is hindered by forces
of sedimentation and convection since the
molecules in the crystal solution are not of uniform
size and weight. This leads to many crystals of
irregular shape and small size that are unusable for
X-ray diffraction. X-ray diffraction is a complex
process that requires several months to several
years to complete, and the quality of data
obtained about the 3-D structure of a protein is
directly dependent on the degree of perfection of the crystals. Thus, the structures of many
important proteins remain a mystery simply because researchers are unable to obtain crystals
of high enough quality or large enough size. Consequently, the growth of high quality
macromolecular crystals for diffraction analyses has been of primary importance for protein
engineers, biochemists, and pharmacologists. Fortunately, the microgravity environment
aboard the ISS is relatively free from the effects of sedimentation and convection and provides
an exceptional environment for crystal growth. Crystals grown in microgravity could help
Camelid crystals grown by diffusion under
microgravity aboard STS-95 during October,- NASA Johnson Space Center image.