A simple technique to convert sitting-drop vapor diffusion into hanging-drop vapor diffusion by solidifying the reservoir solution with agarose

Tae Woong Whon, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Yong Hwan Lee, Louisiana State University
Dong Shan An, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Hyun Kyu Song, Korea University
Song Gun Kim, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology

Abstract

A simple protocol to convert sitting-drop vapor-diffusion plating into a hanging-drop vapor-diffusion experiment in protein crystallization is reported. After making a sitting-drop plate, agarose solution was added to solidify the reservoir solution, and the plates were incubated upside down. Crystallization experiments with hen egg white lysozyme, thaumatin and glucose isomerase showed that the upside-down sitting-drop method could produce single crystals with all the benefits of the hanging-drop crystallization method. © 2009 International Union of Crystallography Printed in Singapore - all rights reserved.