Formulatrix Automated Protein Crystallization System

描述(申请人提供)：美国国立卫生研究院对结构基因组学的承诺正在推动自动化结晶新工具的开发。但自动化也可能对传统的、问题驱动的结晶学产生重大影响。在这里，我们建议为加州大学洛杉矶分校的生物研究社区购买一个自动结晶系统。该系统将包括(1)一台用于生成筛选试剂的Formulatrix Tecan Evo-150液体搬运机器人；(2)一台用于建立结晶试验的蚊子纳米升分配机器人；以及(3)一台用于快速对试验结果进行成像的Formulatrix Rock Imager自动显微镜。 这项拨款申请的成功将触发加州大学洛杉矶分校的承诺，使我们能够为校园创建一个大分子结晶设施。尤其是，加州大学洛杉矶分校已拨出一个实验室来容纳该设施，并将提供资金对其进行翻新。他们还将提供工资支持，以聘请一名设施经理。因此，这笔设备赠款将成为加州大学洛杉矶分校创建新设施的催化剂，该设施将满足我们日益增长的结构确定需求。该设施不仅将服务于此次拨款申请的5个主要用户和11个次要用户，而且将向加州大学洛杉矶分校校园内的任何人开放。 结晶系统将为我们NIH资助的研究项目带来重大好处：成本降低：结晶试验设置的费用将减少约75%，因为我们将(1)批量购买供应；(2)降低劳动力成本；(3)不再购买商业屏幕。提高生产率：生产率将得到提高，因为(1)纳升分配机器人显著减少了所需的蛋白质量，使表达不佳的目标能够进行结晶；(2)自动化将促进更大屏幕的使用，提高成功的机会；以及(3)自动化将消除结晶试验设置的耗时和令人智力麻木的任务，从而解放我们的实验室成员从事其他有用的工作。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The commitment of NIH to structural genomics is driving the development of new tools to automate crystallization. But automation can also have a major impact on traditional, problem driven crystallography. Here we propose the purchase of an automated crystallization system for the biological research community at UCLA. The system will consist of (1) a Formulatrix Tecan Evo-150 liquid handling robot for the generation of screening reagents; (2) a Mosquito nanoliter dispensing robot for setting up crystallization trials; and (3) a Formulatrix Rock Imager automated microscope for rapidly imaging the trial results. Success of this grant application will trigger commitments from UCLA that will allow us to create a macromolecular crystallization facility for the campus. In particular, UCLA has set aside a laboratory to house the facility and will provide funds to renovate it. They will also provide salary support to hire a facility manager. Thus, this equipment grant will be the catalyst for creating a new facility at UCLA that will serve our growing needs in structure determination. The facility will not only serve the 5 major and 11 minor users on this grant application, but will be open to anyone on the UCLA campus. The crystallization system will have major benefits for our NIH funded research projects: Cost reduction: The expense of crystallization trial set ups will be reduced by roughly 75% because we will (1) purchase supplies in bulk; (2) have lower labor costs; and (3) no longer buy commercial screens. Increased productivity: Productivity will be enhanced because (1) the nanoliter dispensing robot dramatically reduces the amount of protein needed, making poorly expressed targets accessible to crystallization; (2) automation will facilitate the use of larger screens, improving the chances of success; and (3) automation will eliminate the time consuming and intellectually numbing task of crystallization trial setups, freeing our lab members to do other useful work.