AREA DETECTOR FOR PROTEIN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY

了解大型生物分子的原子结构， 让我们开始了解一些复杂的化学过程 发生在生物体内。 X射线技术 衍射分析被用来计算原子 其中一些生物分子的结构，特别是 被认为在生物化学上或临床上重要。 基于 合理药物设计和蛋白质 工程学开始成为可能， 合成不只是找到治疗疾病的方法。 X射线衍射分析的一个主要实际困难是 晶体尺寸、质量和耐用性。 来帮助补偿 晶体问题需要最有效的解决方案 用于测量X射线数据的仪器。 特别是一个 需要精确、灵敏、光子计数、位置=敏感区域 探测器，我们建造这样的探测器。 我们的设计是基于非常成功的探测器使用 在加州大学 San Diego（NIH）Research Resource. 在第一阶段，我们 对设计进行了修改， 制造这些探测器。 在第二阶段，我们打算 将检测器封装到更完整的商用衍射仪中 系统和开发一个更大和更快的版本，我们目前的 检测器设计允许使用更小更差的晶体 使得临床和生化工作得以进行， 可能取得 以前

Knowing the atomic structures of large biological molecules allows us to begin to understand some of the complex chemical processes taking place inside living organisms. The techniques of X-ray diffraction analysis are being used to work out the atomic structures of some of these biological molecules, especially ones deemed biochemically or clinically important. Based on interpretation of these structures rational drug design and protein engineering are beginning to be possible so we can chemically synthesize not just find cures for diseases. A major practical difficulty with X-ray diffraction analysis is crystal size, quality and durability. To help compensate for crystal problems one needs the most efficient possible instrumentation for measuring the X-ray data. In particular one needs accurate, sensitive, photon-counting, position=sensitive area detectors and we build such detectors. Our design is based on that of the very successful detectors used in the U.C. San Diego (NIH) Research Resource. During Phase I we worked out modifications to the design to ruggedize and simplify manufacture of these detectors. During Phase II we intend to package the detector into a more complete commercial diffractometer system and develop a larger and much faster version of our present detector design to allow use of even smaller poorer crystals thus allowing clinical and biochemical work to proceed which would have been possible before.