Nucleant Crystallizes Protein Molecules

A nucleant has been developed that traps protein molecules and encourages them to crystallize. The substance is a porous material with a variety of different size pores able to trap different size molecules.

Crystallization is a process that converts materials, such as proteins, into three dimensional crystals, thus enabling their atomic structure to be studied. Professor Naomi Chayen of the Division of Life Sciences, Imperial College London (UK), said that the first step in obtaining a good crystal is to get it to nucleate in an ordered way. The ultimate goal is to find a "universal nucleant” that would induce nucleation of any protein.

Imperial's material scientists developed a substance called Bioglass, and they tested it to see if it would act as a scaffold to trap and encourage the growth of protein crystals. Professor Chayen said, "Although there has been considerable search for a universal nucleant, this is the time we have designed one which works on a large number of materials.” The three-dimensional (3D) structure of crystals indicates a protein's function. The researchers are hopeful that the use of Bioglass will speed up development of new medicines and treatments.



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