High throughput protein nanocrystal fractionation in a microfluidic sorter.

ABSTRACT: Protein crystallography is transitioning into a new generation with the introduction of the X-ray free electron laser, which can be used to solve the structures of complex proteins via serial femtosecond crystallography. Sample characteristics play a critical role in successful implementation of this new technology, whereby a small, narrow protein crystal size distribution is desired to provide high quality diffraction data. To provide such a sample, we developed a microfluidic device that facilitates dielectrophoretic sorting of heterogeneous particle mixtures into various size fractions. The first generation device demonstrated great potential and success toward this endeavor; thus, in this work, we present a comprehensive optimization study to improve throughput and control over sorting

SUBMITTER: Abdallah BG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4830504 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature