Abstract: Macromolecular crystallography is the study of macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids) using X-ray crystallographic techniques for determining their molecular structure. The knowledge of accurate molecular structures is a pre-requisite for rational drug design, and for structure-based function studies for aiding the development of effective therapeutic agents and drugs. The successful determination of the complete genome (genetic sequence) of several species (including humans) has recently directed scientific attention towards identifying the structure and function of the complete complement of proteins that make up a species; this has created a new and rapidly growing field of study called ‘structural genomics’. There are now several important and well-funded global initiatives in operation to identify all of the proteins of key model species. One of the main requirements for these initiatives is a high-throughput crystallization facility to speed-up the protein identification process. This book features the latest conventional and high-throughput methods.

Keywords: macromolecules, proteins, nucleic acids, X-ray crystallographic techniques, molecular structure, drug design, therapeutic agents, structural genomics