Our protein crystallization can be booked via packages, trainings or as a complete full service package. Since crystallization of a protein target requires time, specific considerations for protein design and detailed planning of the experiment, we recommend that you contact us in advance and send an email to bmca(at)boku.ac.at. Just as for the other instruments in our facility, you can always ask for a customized price information/offer, just for your interest or to enclose it in a grant.

Before starting to work in the laboratory, it would be advantageous if you could provide us with detailed information as well as the amino acid sequence of your crystallization target. This could help us to carry out important literature and database research in advance.

Bookable Xtal trainings

  • Optimization
    You learn how to design your customized screens using the ROCK MAKER crystallization software and how to use the FORMULATOR 10 screen builder to prepare these screens.
  • Thermofluor screening
    You learn how to prepare your thermofluor screens and evaluate your result.
  • Fishing
    You learn how to harvest your crystals using cryo loops or meshes and freeze them in LN2
  • Data collection
    The crystals you fished will be sent to the synchrotron by Core Facility staff. On the day a beamline is booked, you will learn how to collect your data remotely.

Bookable Xtal packages

  • Pre-crystallization test
    Since protein concentration is a significant crystallization variable, a pre-crystallization test can be performed. The test includes a Salt and a PEG reagent to determine the appropriate concentration for the subsequent crystallization screening.
    Included instrument, but still needs to be booked: SteREO Discovery.V12 microscope
  • Initial screening
    This package includes 1 commercial crystallization screen. Our facility offers in total 6 different commercial crystallization screens sampling a broad crystallization space.
    Included instruments, but still need to be booked: Mosquito LCP pipetting robot, Rock Imager 1000
  • BYO screen
    When you Bring Your Own (BYO) screen that you purchased by your own or prepared by yourself in a Deep well plate you can use our PLATEMASTER (96- and 384-well plate pipetting system) to pipette it into the crystallization plate.
    Included instruments, but still need to be booked: Mosquito LCP pipetting robot, Rock Imager 1000
     
  • Optimization
    If crystals are obtained from the initial screening but diffraction results are not satisfying, usually 2-4 rounds of optimization can be done to achieve better results. We provide a set of standard chemicals. If special chemicals are required, they must be purchased by the user.
    Included instruments, but still need to be booked: FORMULATOR 10 screen builder, Mosquito LCP pipetting robot, Rock Imager 1000
  • Deep well plate
    Order the Deep well plate as an option to your Optimization package. If you need larger volumes of your optimization screen for long-term storage, preparation of cryo regeant, etc. pipette your optimized conditions directly into the Deep well plate.
    Included instrument, but still needs to be booked: FORMULATOR 10 screen builder
  • Fish & ship 8 xtals
    Obtained crystals will be harvested, flash frozen in LN2 and shipped to a synchrotron for data collection at a pre-booked beamline.
    Included instrument, but still needs to be booked: SteREO Discovery.V12 microscope
     
  • Data collection (per hour)
    On the day a synchrotron beamline is booked, your data will be collected remotely by Core Facility staff. This package is only available in full service mode.
  • Processing & refinement (per hour)
    Collected data have to be processed, the phase problem has to be solved and several rounds of refinement have to be done. The time needed depends on the quality and resolution of the measured data, molecular weight, number of molecules in the asymmetric unit, etc. This package is only available in full service mode.
  • Thermofluor buffer screen or Thermofluor additive screen
    If no crystals are obtained, we offer 2 different thermofluor screens. These screens test different buffers/pHs and additives for improved thermal stability.
     
  • Fishing exercise plate
    Fishing or harvesting of crystals using loops or meshes is not easy. So, you can just practice with prepared lysozyme crystals.
    Included instrument, but still needs to be booked: SteREO Discovery.V12 microscope

Monitoring your crystals

After setting up your crystallization plates, they will be stored in the Rock Imager 1000 and imaged via a pre-defined schedule. You can view and score all images at any time via the ROCK MAKER web. If you are a trained user, you have to monitor your crystallization plates and in case of crystal growth, the core facility should be informed to discuss further steps.

Data collection & ESRF data policy

Our Core Facility is part of the Austrian BAG (Block Allocation Group) that allows us to have access to a significant amount of beamtime at the ESRF (European Synchrotron Radiation Facility) in Grenoble, France. The BAG encompasses a number of independent Principal Investigators from different academic institutions sharing the same synchrotron instrument need (same beamline, same setup). Within this BAG you have free access to allocated beamtime at the ESRF. Note that beamtimes are very often on weekends and during night.

Most important, all generated raw data and provided associated metadata will be accessible to all people that belong to the BAG proposals during a three-year embargo period. After this embargo period all data will be open access. Moreover, scientists using beamtime within a BAG are expected to publish their results.

There is also the possibility for a commercial or proprietary beamtime. These beamtimes are reserved for the group paying for the beamtime and are considered under embargo forever unless requested to be opened by the group concerned.

Here you can find and download the ESRF data policy for Public Access (BAG) and for Commercial Access: https://www.esrf.fr/datapolicy

Acknowledgment

Publications resulting from work at the BOKU Core Facility BmCA and the ESRF have to contain an acknowledgment according to the following pattern:

Within the Material & Methods section, you have to refer to the DOI of your beamline session, i.e.:

The data DOI of that session is 10.15151/ESRF-XYZ.

(Your DOI can be found at https://data.esrf.fr/. You can also generate a new DOI if you wish to point to a particular dataset or sets of datasets. You can find more information on this topic at https://www.esrf.fr/ICAT) 

Within the Acknowledgment section please write:

This project was supported by EQ-BOKU VIBT GmbH and the Protein Crystallography Unit of the BOKU Core Facility Biomolecular & Cellular Analysis. We would like to thank the staff of the ESRF and EMBL Grenoble for assistance and support in using beamline(s) XX, YY, ZZ under proposal number MX2455, MX2529 and/or MX2651.