0 or 3 credits
Spring 2025 Laboratory Upper Division
This course will provide an introduction to structure determination of macromolecules using X-ray crystallography and will attempt to balance theory and practice, consisting of ~60% lectures and ~40% lab modules. The course is divided into five 3-week modules covering (i) Crystallization, (ii) Data Collection, (iii) Molecular Replacement, (iv) Experimental Phasing, and (v) Model Building and Refinement, Validation, and Visualization. The goal of the course is to equip students with the necessary tools to develop and execute an X-ray crystallography project, starting from construct design to publication. By the end of the course, students should be familiar with the (i) structure determination pipeline, (ii) theory behind X-ray diffraction methods, (iii) methods for crystallization, (iv) phasing options for solving a crystal structure, and (v) contemporary crystallography software.
Learning Outcomes1Learn the theory behind X-ray crystallography.
2Learn how to use contemporary software that is used to solve structures and what that software are doing.
3Gain hands-on experience in crystallization and handling crystals for data collection.
4Gain hands-on experience collection data remotely from a synchrotron source and at a home source X-ray instrument.
5Learn how to determine a structure using either molecular replacement and/or experimental phasing; and will learn how to prepare their results for a publication and deposition.
Prerequisites
Restrictions
GPA by professor
made by Purdue students.