title: Dielectrophoretic sorting of membrane protein nanocrystals.
abstract: Structure elucidation of large membrane protein complexes is still a considerable challenge, yet is a key factor in drug development and disease combat. Femtosecond nanocrystallography is an emerging technique with which structural information of membrane proteins is obtained without the need to grow large crystals, thus overcoming the experimental riddle faced in traditional crystallography methods. Here, we demonstrate for the first time a microfluidic device capable of sorting membrane protein crystals based on size using dielectrophoresis. We demonstrate the excellent sorting power of this new approach with numerical simulations of selected submicrometer beads in excellent agreement with experimental observations. Crystals from batch crystallization broths of the huge membrane protein complex photosystem I were sorted without further treatment, resulting in a high degree of monodispersity and crystallinity in the ~100 nm size range. Microfluidic integration, continuous sorting, and nanometer-sized crystal fractions make this method ideal for direct coupling to femtosecond nanocrystallography.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Arizona State University , Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States.
authors.forename: Bahige G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Abdallah
authors.forename: Tzu-Chiao
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Chao
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kupitz
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Fromme
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ros
mesh_terms: D003461:Crystallography; D004586:Electrophoresis / Q000379:methods*; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D053758:Nanoparticles; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D008565:Membrane Proteins; D045331:Photosystem I Protein Complex