Technology development

The ideology behind our technology Bernhard Rupp

As a part of our support function for the TB structural genomics consortium, we have developed affordable, modular technology and protocols for high automated throughput structure determination. The goal is to keep the price of each component below $100k and thus allow any academic institution to benefit from automation of rote tasks in protein structure determination - and to use graduate student talent more productively used than in the rote, repetitive work cycles of crystallization.

• Provide modular design so that separate but compatible modules can be acquired
• Keep the price tag below $100k
• Allow free access for academics to instrumentation design
• Protect IP assets by patenting and licensing to Biotech industry.

Examples of instrumentation developed at the TBCF

• Interface of CRYSTOOL to liquid handling systems for automated crystallization cocktail production
• Development of the HYDRA+1 crystallization robot prototype for fast setup of 500nl drops in 96 well INTELLIPLATES.
  The latest development of the Hydra+1 type robots is the improved PHOENIX crystallization robot by Art Robbins, the original inventor of the HYDRA liquid dispensers.
• Adapt the VersaScan system for automated 96 well image acquisition and crystal recognition (CRYSFIND)
• Designed with Art Robbins the 96 well INTELLIPLATE (available from Hampton Research)
• Peltier driven sample cooler for SBS format
• Developed a crystallization pre-screening kit (CYSTOOL PreScreen) to allow quick estimate of concentration range suitable for crystallization
• Implemented a bias removal and automated Molecular Replacement server for the TB consortium
• Crystallization predictor using pI as a prior information (CRYSPRED)
• Development of second generation 96+1 contactless microsolenoid dispenser for nanoliter volumes with Innovadyne

Go here to learn more about crystallography.