X-ray
Optical systems, Inc. (XOS) has designed and built a protein crystal
structure analyzer based on a convergent-beam X-ray diffraction
technique. This technique is capable of analyzing extremely
small crystals on the order of a few thousandths of a millimeter. The
analyzer is a bench-top system that uses a high-intensity, convergent
X-ray beam for fast screening of small protein crystals. This
technique is very rapid and more cost-effective than the large
synchrotron radiation-based systems that are used currently. The
company is commercializing the protein crystal analyzer. This
can be incorporated into existing OEM X-ray analysis systems, which
are routinely used by academic and government research laboratories,
as well as the pharmaceutical industry. The technology has
significant potential for reducing the time and cost of
developing new proteins for drug manufacturers, thereby accelerating
the development of new drug therapies.
