Favourable mediation of crystal contacts by cocoamidopropylbetaine (CAPB).
Crystals of excellent quality are a prerequisite for high-resolution X-ray data. However, in refinement protocols of crystallization conditions it is often difficult to obtain the right combination of, for example, protein concentration, drop size, temperature and additives. A novel approach for optimizing crystal contacts in a most favourable fashion by performing crystallization setups with the zwitterionic surfactant cocoamidoproylbetaine (CAPB) is introduced. In the presence of this surfactant, highly diffracting crystals were obtained. Here, data from a right-handed coiled coil (RHCC) in complex with CAPB at 1.4 A resolution are presented. The addition of CAPB using otherwise identical crystallization conditions and the same X-ray source caused an improvement in resolution from 2.9 to 1.4 A.
Ozbek
Suat
S
Department of Biophysical Chemistry, Biozentrum, University of Basel, Klingelbergstrase 70, CH-4056 Basel, Switzerland.
Müller
Jürgen F
JF
Figgemeier
Egbert
E
Stetefeld
Jörg
J
D019843:Archaeal Proteins / Q000737:chemistry*; D001622:Betaine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry; D003460:Crystallization / Q000379:methods*; D008958:Models, Molecular; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014961:X-Ray Diffraction / Q000379:methods
D019843:Archaeal Proteins; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; C503172:cocoamidopropylbetaine; D001622:Betaine