Protein Crystals Grow Bigger And Better In Microgravity In Space, Could Be Used From Biomedical Research To Drug Design

Scientists discovered that the protein crystals aboard the International Space Station have grown bigger and better in microgravity. The discovery could be of help to biomedical research and pharmaceutical industry such as improving the drug design bottleneck.

The findings of the study will be presented at the American Crystallographic Association's 66th Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado on July 22 to 26, 2016. It was led by the team of researchers from the University of Grenada in Spain, Oak Ridge national Laboratory and the University of Alabama in Huntsville, according to Science Daily.

The researchers conceptualized microgravity experiments to grow crystals of inorganic pyrophosphatase (IPPase) in space. They aim to grow high-quality, large-volume crystals for use in neutron macromolecular crystallography, which is the selected way for identifying the positions of hydrogen atoms within macromolecules.

The team had their first test crystals of IPPase on the ground at the Grenada Crystallization Facility. Then, they thought that the system would work best under microgravity. This is because the forces of gravity can affect the flow of solution. So, they sent them into space through the Space X for the purpose of crystallization aboard the International Space Station. Joseph D. Ng, director of the Biotechnology Science & Engineering Program from the University of Alabama in Huntsville explained that in the space the proteins can crystallize in an optimized supersaturated condition.

Ng explained that the two GCF units were discharged on SpaceX-3, and then returned six months later on SpaceX-4. He further explained that from these flights, IPPase crystals with volumes greater than 6mm3 were obtained in 2-mm quartz capillaries." He added that as of today, it is the largest known IPPase crystals that were gotten from these experiments aboard the ISS. He also described the space-grown crystals as superior compared to those grown on Earth.

The protein crystallization is needed for the formulation of proteins for pharmaceutical purposes. It is also needed for structural analysis by neutron diffraction, X-ray diffraction and some techniques of electron microscopy, which determines the molecular structure of the protein.