X-ray Protein Crystallography Platform

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In structural biology, X-ray crystallography is used to determine the atomic structure of a crystal. The underlying principle lies in the property of crystalline atoms diffracting X-ray beams in specific directions. NTU Institute of Structural Biology (NISB), we provide the necessary infrastructure to support projects relating to protein crystallography. On top of housing a state of art X-ray diffractometer, the platform also has semi and fully automated equipment to help set crystal plates and periodic imaging, to observe the growth of crystals.

Equipment

FRX

FRX - X-ray Protein Crystal Diffraction System

The X-ray diffraction system at NISB uses the Rigaku FR-X Microfocus rotating anode generator coupled with VariMax-VHF optic and Dectris PILATUS3 R 300K HPAD detection system.

RockImager

RockImager - Robotic Crystal Imager

Rock Imager is an automated imaging system for protein crystallization. It is able to capture images of each well on a user-defined schedule.

Gryphon

Crystal Gryphon - Liquid Handling System

The Crystal Gryphon is a small, fast and affordable high-throughput liquid handling system set up for setting up all traditional protein crystallography plates.

Mosquito LCP - Liquid Handling System

The MOSQUITO LCP is a nano-litre liquid handler that allows rapid dispensing of protein for rapid setting of crystal screens.

Platform Usage

The platform is open to all academic and industrial users.

Equipment can be accessed either independently (after training has been conducted) or with the assistance of one of our facility staff.

Independent usage

  • Equipment training allows users to operate our instruments independently.
    If instrumental work is going to be regular, or there are a fair amount of samples, training is recommended.
    Users will be required to clear safety requirements before training can commence.
    For more information, please go to our Facility Access page.

Usage with assistance 

  • Users can opt for our facility staff to operate the instruments for them. This is best if equipment usage is going to be one-off, irregular, or if there just a few samples.
  • Charges for usage with assistance are for the technical operation of our instruments and do not include data analysis. There is no guarantee of getting any results from your sample.

Equipment Charges

Billing and payment terms

  • The user will be invoiced monthly for the usage.
  • The user who fails to pay the bill in thirty (30) days from the date of invoice will be suspended from using the facility until the bill is cleared
  • The terms and conditions are subject to be reviewed and revised in the future by NISB management.

Usage Rates

  • NISB offers competitive rates for the use of equipment as well as training and service. Please download the full rate chart here.

Instrument Reservation

Once trained, users can book instruments online using our booking system.

  • Instrument reservation is on a first come first serve basis. All users, have equal access for instrument booking.
  • There are no priority booking times, reserved timeslots or priority users.
  • If you find you are unable to use your booked sessions please cancel as soon as possible to allow others to make use of the instrument time.
    Usage charges will still apply for sessions canceled with less than 24 hours notice or if users fail to turn up.

Guidelines and Regulations

Users are required to read and acknowledge the terms and conditions in the Guideline and Rules for NISB X-ray Crystallography Platform.

Acknowledgement in Publications

Please acknowledge our facility in any scientific publication or oral presentation where the data presented are collected from our instruments or with the help of NISB staff.

NISB should be acknowledged in the publications and presentation as follows: 

“The authors acknowledge the use of NISB Biophysics and Biochemistry Platform at NTU Institute of Structural Biology (NISB), Nanyang Technological University”

Significant scientific and intellectual contribution of NISB staff, either collaboration and/or supervision, warrants the co-authorship on any resulting publications.