Crystallization Unit

Technician: Valentina Cecatiello
Tel: +39 0294375041 - valentina.cecatielloifom-ieo-campus.it
Supervisor: Marina Mapelli
Tel: +39 0294375042 - marina.mapelliifom-ieo-campus.it

Cogentech (Consortium for Genomic Technologies)
c/o IFOM-IEO Campus, at the second floor of building 1
Via Adamello, 16 - 20139 Milan, Italy

The Crystallization Facility started in 2006 and is now available to the Campus and to external users as a service provided by Cogentech. The three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules and their complexes can significantly contribute to the understanding of the biological processes in which they are involved. We have established an automated platform for the high-throughput protein crystallization in order to maximize the success rate of initial crystallization trials with minimal amounts of sample.

Our service

The facility provides:

• Crystallization screening experiments performed in 96-well plates with a nano-dispenser robot by sitting-drop vapour diffusion method.
• Storage of the crystallization trays at 20°C or 5°C.
• Automated visualization of the crystallization experiments (only for the plates at 20°C) according to a standard two weeks schedule.
• Analysis of the results, also accessible on-line to the users.
• Design and preparation of follow-up optimization experiments to be performed either in 96-well format or manually in 24-well format.

The Facility offers only support and supervision for the successive steps, including crystal freezing, data collection and structure determination.