Semi-automated microseeding of nanolitre crystallization experiments.
Walter TS., Mancini EJ., Kadlec J., Graham SC., Assenberg R., Ren J., Sainsbury S., Owens RJ., Stuart DI., Grimes JM., Harlos K.
A simple semi-automated microseeding procedure for nanolitre crystallization experiments is described. Firstly, a microseed stock solution is made from microcrystals using a Teflon bead. A dilution series of this microseed stock is then prepared and dispensed as 100 nl droplets into 96-well crystallization plates, facilitating the incorporation of seeding into high-throughput crystallization pipelines. This basic microseeding procedure has been modified to include additive-screening and cross-seeding methods. Five examples in which these techniques have been used successfully are described.