Toward a Microgravity Research Strategy (1992) / Chapter Skim
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Appendix A: Biological Sciences
Appendix A: Biological Sciences
Pages 20-25
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From page 20... ...
SUMMARY CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 4 STATUS APPENDIX A APPENDIX B Protein Crystallography APPENDIX C APPENDIX D APPENDIX E Protein crystallography is the general name given to determination of the APPENDIX F detailed, three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules, including protein, DNA, and RNA, by using x-ray crystallographic techniques. The determination of accurate macromolecular structures is absolutely necessary for establishing the molecular mechanisms of biological reactions, for rational drug design (in which a molecule is designed to bind to a specific target protein)
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From page 21... ...
It is very probable that any general improvement in the ability to grow suitable crystals of macromolecules will have a major impact on crystallography's usefulness to the biomedical community. Separation Processes In many instances, progress in the biological sciences and in biotechnology is limited by the ability to separate a myriad of proteins, nucleic acids, and associated complexes created by modern genetic engineering either as natural mixtures in blood serum or from manufactured mixtures, such as cell culture media, hybridoma cultures, or synthetic solutions.
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From page 22... ...
The efficiency of these methods hinges on the ability to maintain a very dispersed phase and is influenced strongly by sedimentation. Cells and Cell Cultures Current biological research includes the formation of ordered biocompatible materials, genetic manipulation, cell fusion, and the regulation of cell growth and differentiation.
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From page 23... ...
Separations carried out on Earth and in space, coupled with extensive theoretical analysis, have shown the important role of electrohydrodynamic forces in determining the efficiency of separation; the convective movement of charged molecules in an electric field leads to significant convective mixing in large-gap electrophoresis devices in space and severely degrades the quality of the separation. These effects are masked on Earth by the smallgap devices that must be used to prevent convection due to density gradients.
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From page 24... ...
This would require additional studies of the crystallization process in ground based laboratories. While the present work on mechanisms of protein crystallization being conducted at the University of Alabama's Center for the Commercial Development of Space is well regarded, an incremental expansion of such fundamental studies would be done most effectively through competitive research grants that could be made available to any of the crystallographic laboratories in the United States.
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From page 25... ...
All proteins and nucleic acids are highly polymorphic in their ability to form crystals. In other words, these biological macromolecules can be crystallized in many different crystal forms under different crystallization conditions; the presence or absence of gravity is merely one of many variables that can be explored in the pursuit of better crystals.
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