"How to use ""random"" microseeding before you get your first crystals"

Random Microseed Matrix-Screening (rMMS), where seed crystals are added automatically to random crystallization screens, is a significant recent breakthrough in protein crystallization [1]. One industrial group used the method to solve 38 out of 70 structures generated in a three year period, finding particular success with antibody complexes [2]. rMMS not only produces more hits, it also generates better-diffracting crystals - because crystals are more likely to grow in the metastable zone. This assumes, however, that you have some initial crystal hits to make a seed stock from. This presentation will look at unusual methods of nucleation, including cross-seeding [3], heterogeneous nucleation, and nucleation with precipitants [4].