Crystallization and preparation of protein crystals for X-ray diffraction analysis

The characteristic features of crystallization and structures of protein cr ystals have been considered. Along with the well known methods for growing protein crystals appropriate for the X-ray diffraction study, other methods are also considered such as protein crystallization on orienting substrate s, crystallization in gels, crystallization under the conditions of micro- and macrogravitation, crystallization on seeds, and crystallization with th e use of various detergents, The techniques used for varying the number of seeds in the solution and optimizing the growth conditions are discussed as well as the methods for storing protein crystals grown and preparing them for the low-temperature X-ray diffraction studies.