Even if imprisoned inside a crystal, molecules can still move
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 - 10:50
in Physics & Chemistry
X-ray crystallography reveals the three-dimensional structure of a molecule, especially for therapeutic or biotechnological purposes. For the first time, a study has shown that residual movements continue to animate proteins inside a crystal and that this movement 'blurs' the structures obtained via crystallography. The study stresses that the more these residual movements are restricted, the better the crystalline order.