What we do
The Macromolecular Crystallization Laboratory is part of the Molecular Observatory at the California Institute of Technology. We provide support for the research community at Caltech who wish to crystallize and determine the structure of macromolecular compounds.
Technique
Our lab primarily uses vapour diffusion crystallization technique. This technique will be performed in both sitting and hanging drop formats.
The Mosquito
The Mosquito is a liquid handling robot that was specifically built to help the delicate process of crystallizing proteins. It was designed with capability of working with very small volumes. It has a volume range of 100 nanoLiters to 1.2 microLiters.
For further information on The Mosquito go to: http://www.ttplabtech.com
Protein Crystallization Plates
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The robot will support any standard SBS plates. Our lab offers few plates that will be available for your choice. The research labs that choose the sitting drop technique will be able have a choice of the following plates:
96-well Greiner plate, 4 microliters square drop plate, 1 drop well
96-well Greiner plate, 4 microliters square drop plate, 3 drop well
For the laboratories that choose the hanging drop technique, will have to use the:
96-well Corning flat bottom plate