Please note that Internet Explorer is incompatible with this site.

We recommend upgrading to the latest Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome, or Firefox.

Skip to Main Content

Core Facilities

Structural Biology

Structure-Based Drug Design

AKTA Pure

The AKTA Pure FPLC (Fast Protein Liquid Chromatography) system allows for the rapid purification of proteins, peptides, etc... The system is suitable for running affinity, ion exchange, hydrophobic interaction, and size-exclusion chromatography columns and the F9-C fraction collector can conveniently dispense samples into 96 well deep-well plates for easy collection and analysis. Additionally, the S9 Sample Pump allows for the loading of large sample volumes onto columns at up to 50 mL/min.


Art Robbins Instruments

Crystal Phoenix and SPT Labtech Mosquito Xtal3

The Phoenix and Xtal3 are high-throughput crystallization screening robots that allow researchers to quickly screen their protein of interest against commercially available crystallization screening kits, or screens developed in house. The Xtal3 can set up screening drops as small as 50 nL, thus allowing researchers to use a minimal amount of precious sample. The core regularly keeps the following commercial crystallization screens in stock, but researchers can also provide their own for use:

  • Rigaku JCSG+
  • Rigaku Berkeley
  • Rigaku Top96
  • NeXtal PEGs II Suite
  • NeXtal AmSO4 Suite

Formulatrix Rock Imager 1000

The Rock Imager is an automatic crystal imaging system/hotel that can store up to 970 screening trays at 20° C and image the trays on a set schedule. This eliminates the need for researchers to manually look through every screening drop and allows for rapid identification of screening hits. An array of imaging schedules are available to track crystal growth over the span of a few days, or up to three months. The Rock Imager is equipped with visible, polarized, and UV objectives for easy determination of protein crystals vs. salt crystals. Additionally, crystallization conditions identified on the Rock Imager can be automatically sent to the Formulator 16 to create customized optimization screens that can be used on the Phoenix.


Formulatrix Formulator 16

The Formulator 16 is a liquid handler that utilizes microfluidics to dispense (down to 200 nL) up to 16 different reagents and create custom crystal screening/optimization screens. Crystallization conditions can be automatically uploaded from the Rock Imager and used to design a tailored optimization screen to improve crystal size/quality.