Facilitated crystal handling using a simple device for evaporation reduction in microtiter plates

Area of Science:

• Structural Biology
• Biophysics
• Crystallography

Background:

• Macromolecular crystallography experiments have seen significant advancements in speed and throughput over the past two decades.
• However, crystal manipulation and harvesting remain a bottleneck in the experimental workflow.
• Minimizing evaporation during these processes is crucial for successful diffraction experiments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present a novel, low-cost device designed to overcome the challenges in crystal manipulation and harvesting.
• To improve the throughput of macromolecular crystallography experiments by addressing the bottleneck in crystal handling.
• To protect individual crystallization experiments from evaporation while allowing access for harvesting.

Main Methods:

• Development and testing of a novel low-cost device functioning as a cover for 96-well crystallization plates.
• The device features movable parts for accessing individual experiments while protecting others.
• Initial tests involved assessing the device's ability to minimize evaporation of various crystallization cocktails.

Main Results:

• The device successfully protected drops of common crystallization cocktails for up to 6 hours.
• It enables straightforward manipulation and harvesting of crystals from 96-well plates.
• The device facilitates significantly higher throughput for crystal harvesting.

Conclusions:

• The presented device offers a practical and cost-effective solution to the bottleneck in macromolecular crystallography crystal harvesting.
• It enables efficient handling of crystals, leading to increased experimental throughput.
• This innovation is particularly beneficial for large-scale screening campaigns in macromolecular crystallography.