The High Throughput Crystallization Laboratory EMBL-Grenoble - PSB

The High Throughput crystallization laboratory at EMB-Grenoble is a state of the art facility providing full automation of the crystallization screening for structural Biology. Purified biological samples received in our laboratory are assayed for crystallization through a fully automated process managed by our own staff. Users can decide on the experimental protocols (experimental set up, screens …) and have remote access to the results of their experiments. Support for refinement of the initial crystallization conditions and customized experiments is also provided. We are actively engaged in research and development of new crystallization methods and work in narrow collaboration with the automated data collection team at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) and the on-site protein expression and production facilities.

The liquid handling technology introduced in our platform (Synquad®, Genomic Solutions) facilitates the miniaturization of the experiments allowing us to perform extensive crystallization screenings even with very limited amounts of sample (90 l or less) and is also very well suited for ligand binding studies. This is matched by a high-capacity platform for preparation of crystallization solutions (TECAN) and an automated crystal plate storage and visualization system (Minstrel III, Robodesing).

The High Throughput crystallization laboratory is open to all the members of the Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB) including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF), The Institute Laue Langevin (ILL), the Institute de Biologie Structurelle (IBS) and the Institute de Virologie Moleculaire et Structurelle (IVMS). Limited access to external researchers is provided through specific collaboration agreements.

Our resources are accessible (via secure server) at: https://htxlab.embl.fr