NEW DEVELOPMENTS OF THE IMPAX SMALL-VOLUME AUTOMATED CRYSTALLIZATION SYSTEM

Recent developments of the IMPAX system for automated crystallization are presented. A five-channel microtip has been introduced into the sy stem thereby providing an extra degree of freedom for carrying out exp eriments. A new mouse-driven program for screening has been introduced , which creates a much wider scope for designing and executing screens covering new conditions of crystallization. The hardware has been ada pted so that the system can also be used to set up vapour-diffusion tr ials. A simple design of a vapour-diffusion vessel, suitable for sitti ng drops of 2-15 mul, using smaller reservoir volumes (up to 100 mul), facilitates large-scale systematic trials.