State of the Art: New Crystallography Equipment Aids Science and the Study of Artifacts

Upgrading X-ray crystallography equipment at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville has had an unexpected benefit: enabling analyses that could help art museums authenticate, restore, and learn more about their pieces. Two copies of a protein (pink and purple) produced by the hepatitis C virus interacting with the same strand of DNA (green). This structure was solved using equipment at the University of Arkansas X-ray crystallography center. Credit: PDB 2F55. Scientists use X-ray crystallography to determine the detailed 3D structures of molecules. In biomedical contexts, researchers often apply X-ray crystallography to map the structures of proteins and other biomolecules like DNA and RNA. A molecule’s structure can shed light on its function and help answer scientific questions. For example, knowing the structures of proteins involved in antibiotic resistance can help researchers determine how those molecules work and how to combat bacteria that produce them. Many colleges and universities—especially those without graduate programs—don’t have X-ray crystallography equipment due to the high cost. The X-ray crystallography center at the University of Arkansas, which is supported in part by the Arkansas IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), provides X-ray crystallography services to scientists—like professors and undergraduate students from small colleges—who might otherwise struggle to access them. The center has trained many stu...
Source: Biomedical Beat Blog - National Institute of General Medical Sciences - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Molecular Structures Tools and Techniques Cool Tools/Techniques Source Type: blogs