Conduct Macromolecular Biophysics (MMB), Protein CrystalGrowth (PCG) experiments with PI specific sample modules operated in the FIR/LMM. Manual mounting of frozen samples.
• A protein crystal is a specific protein repeated over and over ahundred thousand times or more in a perfect lattice.
• These proteins control aspects of human health and understandingthem is an important beginning step in developing and improvingtreatments for diseases.
• The space station provides a unique environment where we canimprove the quality of protein crystals. While we cangrow highresolutioncrystals both in space and on the ground, those grown inspace are often more perfectly formed.
• The LMM is designed for autonomous operation through scripts and ground commanding. Crew time is required for initial installation and check out in the Fluids Integrated Rack (FIR), sample change out, and removal from FIR.
• A ground simulator is available for testing.
LMM Biophysics 1 (The Effect of Macromolecular Transport of Microgravity Protein Crystallization) Experimental Approach of the LMM Biophysics 1 Investigation: Four aqueous proteins, one membrane protein (P-glycoprotein) and one virus (tobacco mosaic virus, TMV), are selected with the proteins covering a broad range of molecular weights (i.e. ~10kDa to as high as 1,250kDa) and tobacco … Read the rest ⇢
Light Microscopy Module Biophysics-2 (LMMBIO-2) The main objective of Light Microscopy Module Biophysics-2 (LMMBIO-2) is to understand why protein crystallization experiments in microgravity have often generated unexpectedly low or high numbers of crystals. Both of these outcomes may negatively affect experiments designed to obtain a small number of well-separated crystals for x-ray structure studies. This … Read the rest ⇢
LMM Biophysics 3 (Growth Rate Dispersion as a Predictive Indicator for Biological Crystal Samples Where Quality Can be Improved with Microgravity Growth) Scientists use X-ray crystallography to view molecules that are too small to be seen under a microscope; but this requires crystallizing them, which is difficult to do on Earth. Observing crystallized proteins allows … Read the rest ⇢
LMM Biophysics 4 (The Effect of Macromolecular Transport of Microgravity Protein Crystallization) Proteins are important biological molecules that can be crystallized to provide better views of their structure, which helps scientists understand how they work. Proteins crystallized in microgravity are often higher in quality than those grown on Earth. The Effect of Macromolecular Transport on … Read the rest ⇢
LMM Biophysics 5 (Solution Convection and the Nucleation Precursors in Protein Crystallization) Solution Convection and the Nucleation Precursors in Protein Crystallization (LMM Biophysics 5) tests whether solution convection – movement of molecules through the fluid – enhances or suppresses formation of the dense liquid clusters from which crystals form. The investigation uses images from the … Read the rest ⇢
LMM Biophysics 6 (Growth Rate Dispersion as a Predictive Indicator for Biological Crystal Samples Where Quality Can be Improved with Microgravity Growth) Scientists use X-ray crystallography to view molecules that are too small to be seen under a microscope; but this requires crystallizing them, which is difficult to do on Earth. Observing crystallized proteins allows … Read the rest ⇢
