From protein crystals to structural characterization

Structural Biology is a consolidated scientific field that is critical for understanding of the molecular bases that lie behind the function of the different proteins, the investigation on the pathological impact of protein mutations and the development of new and better drugs.

One of the most long-standing disciplines of the field is protein crystallography, a technique that exploits single crystal x-ray diffraction to obtain atomic or near-atomic resolution models of the proteins that are investigated, allowing to delve into structure-activity relationship studies with final aims that may span from understanding the functioning of a biological process at molecular level, to the development of new therapeutic agents.

In the first part of the presentation some base concepts regarding protein crystallization are described, with a particular focus on how protein crystals can be optimized and on the techniques that may be used in order to obtain crystals, and then structures, of protein-ligand complexes.

In the second part a portion of a Structure Based Drug Design project is illustrated, providing an example of the data and results that can be obtained using single crystal x-ray diffraction, also focusing on the different approaches that might be used for the development of a drug candidate.

Speaker: Andrea Dalle Vedove, RIT (Area Science Park)