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Nature Chemistry (18 July 2008) | doi:10.1038/nchem.38

Protein chemistry: Handy crystallization

Neil Withers

How do you study the structure and properties of a new protein if you only have extremely small amounts to begin with, and then it just does not crystallize? Make it for yourself, then crystallize the naturally occurring L-form with its mirror image D-form. That's the answer according to Stephen Kent and colleagues at the University of Chicago, in collaboration with biochemists at the University of Pennsylvania.