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![[Figure 6]](nj5173fig6mag.jpg)
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Figure 6
Dab-drying thermolysin crystals that were co-crystallized in situ. The thermolysin crystals grew well, but were enveloped by excess mother liquor consisting of buffer solution, precipitant solution, fragment solution and water that was incorporated owing to the hygroscopic nature of DMSO (DMSO is present in both the thermolysin crystallization condition and the solvated fragments). For demonstration purposes, we prepared a specimen with a hugely exaggerated volume of water-engorged DMSO. To improve the signal to noise, each crystal-containing micromesh was individually dab-dried by thrusting an absorbent dental point vertically upwards through an aperture in the bottom of the pin platform box window (a) (the vertical absorbent point appears inclined owing to angular optics in the dissecting microscope). The absorbent point then touched the bottom of the micromesh (b) and excess mother liquor was steadily withdrawn through the holes in the micromesh (c), leaving the crystals surrounded by a thin blanket of mother liquor (d). Crystals that had excess mother liquor withdrawn in this way were compared with untreated crystals. The diffraction limit at unity I/σ(I) was observed to be 1.9 Å for dab-dried crystals versus 3.7 Å for untreated crystals (data not shown). |
![[Figure 6]](nj5173fig6.jpg)
 | STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY |
ISSN: 2059-7983
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