Protein crystals are often fragile and suffer from mechanical stress during manipulation and/or mounting. This can lead to impairment and even complete loss of diffraction quality. XtalTool was developed to minimize the handling steps of crystals in order to obtain the best possible diffraction data[1].
| Feature | Function | Comments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Round plastic support (outer frame) | Support for airtight COC film (D) | 22 mm or 18 mm diameter available |
| B | Positioning aids | Correct positioning of the XtalTool on the well of a crystallization plate | |
| C | X-ray transparent polyimide film with 5 µm pores | Crystal support, allows diffusion of (soaking) solutions |
|
| D | Airtight transparent removable COC film | Sealing of the well during crystallization and crystal manipulation |
|
| E | Extension | Mimics pin and stabilizes XtalTool in the cryostream | To be screwed into XtalTool Base for data collection |
| * | Predetermined breaking points | To break away the outer frame for data collection | Only in XtalTool HT |
1. XtalTool is used as a cover slide for hanging drop crystallization: The protein droplets are pipetted onto the yellow polyimide film, then XtalTool is flipped over and placed onto a greased well of a 24 well crystallization plate. Crystal growth is monitored using a standard light microscope.
2. Crystal manipulation such as ligand soaking or cryoprotection is performed in a gentle way directly on the XtalTool. The crystal is never touched directly and the well remains closed, so any unnecessary disturbance of the crystal is avoided:
3. X-ray diffraction data are collected in-situ at ambient or cryo temperature: The COC film is pealed off and XtalTool HT is screwed into an XtalTool Base. The outer frame is then broken away at the predetermined breaking points and the crystal on the XtalTool HT can be flash frozen and stored in liquid nitrogen until data is collected.
| Product | Cat. No. | Amount/Content | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| XtalTool HT 18 mm | X-XT-104 | 20 pcs. | |
| XtalTool | X-XT-101 | 24 pcs. + 1 Base |
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E-Mail Christin for technical inquiries or further information: xtals@jenabioscience.com
[1] Feiler et al. (2019) An All-in-one Sample Holder for Macromolecular X-ray Crystallography with Minimal Background Scattering. J. Vis. Exp. 149:e59722.
[2] Patent DE 10 2017 129 761.8, Christian G. Feiler, Dirk Wallacher, Manfred S. Weiss.
[3] Patent DE 10 2018 125 129.7, Christian G. Feiler, Dirk Wallacher, Manfred S. Weiss.
[4] Patent DE 10 2018 129 125.6, Christian G. Feiler, Dirk Wallacher, Manfred S. Weiss.
