What is protein crystallography ?

Structural Biology is a fundamental aspect of modern biology which aims to determine the three-dimensional atomic structure of biological molecules, especially proteins, and thereby give insight to the function of these molecules in the living cell.

For example, knowledge of the three-dimensional structures of key human or human pathogen proteins is vital for speeding up the discovery of new antibiotics or anti-cancer drugs. Detailed knowledge of proteins involved in genetic diseases is also important in developing new diagnostics and therapeutic tools.

NORSTRUCT can provide high international standard expertice for the determination and analysis of the 3D-structures of biologically active macromolecules.
Throughout the world, protein crystallography is used to:

• Determine new protein structures
  
• Perform rational drug design
  
• Make complexes of proteins and drug targets
  
• Obtain DNA and protein complexes
  
• Resolve three-dimensional protein-protein structures
  
• Do structure-function studies
  

• A typical process of determining the three-dimentional protein structure


• Crystallization


• Important definitions in Protein Crystallography