Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Ligand Binding Sites

Ligand Binding Sites

Proteins are dynamic macromolecules that carry out a wide variety of essential processes; however, the activities of most proteins depend on their interactions with other molecules or ions, known as ligands.
Protein-ligand interactions are quite specific; even though numerous potential ligands surround a cellular protein at any given time, only a particular ligand can bind to that protein. Moreover, a ligand binds only to a dedicated area on the surface of the protein, known as the...

Ligand Binding Sites

Ligand Binding Sites

Ligand Binding and Linkage

Ligand Binding and Linkage

Allosteric proteins have more than one ligand binding site; the binding of a ligand to any of these sites influences the binding of ligands to the other sites. When a protein is allosteric, its binding sites are called coupled or linked. In the case of enzymes, the site that binds to the substrate is known as the active site and the other site is known as the regulatory site. When a ligand binds to the regulatory site, this leads to conformational changes in the protein that can influence...

Ligand Binding and Linkage

Ligand Binding and Linkage

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation- ChIP

Chromatin Immunoprecipitation- ChIP

Chromatin immunoprecipitation, or ChIP, is an antibody-based technique used to identify sites on DNA that bind to transcription factors of interest or histone proteins. It also helps determine the type of histone modifications such as acetylation, phosphorylation, or methylation.
Types of ChIP
ChIP can be divided into two types - X-ChIP and N-ChIP. X-ChIP involves in vivo cross-linking of histones and regulatory proteins to DNA, fragmenting the DNA by sonication, and isolating the protein-DNA...

X-ray Crystallography

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Antibiofilm, Antimicrobial, and Anti-inflammatory Potential of Rubus chamaemorus Rhizome, Leaf, and Fruit Extracts.

Chemistry & biodiversity·2026

Same author

High-throughput in situ single particle X-ray imaging of dehydrating viral capsids.

Light, science & applications·2026

Same author

Single-Particle X-ray Scattering Reveals a High Local Supersaturation of Precursors as the Origin of CoO Assembly Formation.

The journal of physical chemistry letters·2026

Same author

Identification of immunostimulatory antigens in Group A <i><i>Streptococcus</i></i>-derived vesicles.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

Statistical crystallography reveals an allosteric network in SARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup>.

Communications biology·2026

Same author

3D atomic structure determination with ultrashort-pulse MeV electron diffraction.

IUCrJ·2026

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jan 22, 2026

$On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature$

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

On-chip crystallization for serial crystallography experiments and on-chip ligand-binding studies.

Julia Lieske^1,2, Maximilian Cerv², Stefan Kreida³

¹Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.

|July 19, 2019

Summary

A novel on-chip crystallization method enables efficient protein crystal growth for serial crystallography. This technique reduces sample use and data collection time, facilitating drug discovery screening.

Keywords:

X-ray crystallography drug discovery fixed-target crystallography in-situ diffraction ligand binding ligand soaking protein structure serial crystallography silicon chip vapor diffusion

More Related Videos

Crystallization and Structural Determination of an Enzyme:Substrate Complex by Serial Crystallography in a Versatile Microfluidic Chip

Crystallization and Structural Determination of an Enzyme:Substrate Complex by Serial Crystallography in a Versatile Microfluidic Chip

Published on: March 20, 2021

$Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography$

Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

Published on: April 24, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jan 22, 2026

$On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature$

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

Crystallization and Structural Determination of an Enzyme:Substrate Complex by Serial Crystallography in a Versatile Microfluidic Chip

Crystallization and Structural Determination of an Enzyme:Substrate Complex by Serial Crystallography in a Versatile Microfluidic Chip

Published on: March 20, 2021

$Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography$

Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

Published on: April 24, 2018

Area of Science:

Structural Biology
Biophysics
Crystallography

Background:

Serial crystallography requires efficient sample delivery, a common bottleneck.
Fixed-target methods offer reduced sample consumption and faster data collection.
Current methods often involve complex crystal handling and potential dehydration.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a new on-chip crystallization method for in-situ serial crystallography.
To enable reproducible growth of numerous protein crystals on micro-patterned chips.
To streamline sample preparation and improve crystal accessibility for experiments.

Main Methods:

On-chip crystallization using sitting-drop vapor diffusion on micro-patterned silicon chips.
Efficient removal of mother liquor by blotting, eliminating the need for sealing.
Serial X-ray diffraction experiments at synchrotron and X-ray free-electron laser facilities.

Main Results:

Reproducible growth of large numbers of protein crystals directly on chips.
Obtained 'naked' crystals with low background scattering, enhancing accessibility.
Determined high-quality X-ray structures of aquaporin 2, thermolysin, and DRAK2, including ligand-bound states.

Conclusions:

The on-chip crystallization method is efficient and reproducible for serial crystallography.
This technique is suitable for sensitive crystal systems and reduces handling steps.
The method shows promise for high-throughput screening of pharmaceutical compounds.