Hi Debasish, I would first use some of those crystals to make seeds and grow some new crystals so that I would not lose the crystal. Dehydration, even done systematically (eg, http://www.mitegen.com/mic_catalog.php?c=jenCrystaloptdehydrate), may or may not improve the diffraction. Like most other things in biological crystallography, it varies from case to case. I do not think other people’s experience really means anything for your crystals.
Zhijie From: Debasish Chattopadhyay Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 10:59 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [ccp4bb] Recovering crystals from dry drops Would you please share your experience and comments on recovering protein crystals from dry (or almost dry hanging drops) for data collection. I found some beautiful crystals in hanging drops that were set up three years ago; from the color of the crystals ( the protein binds a colored substrate) and the their shape I know these are crystals of my protein. I had collected data using some of these crystals when they were fresh; resolution was poor and the overall I/sigma was low. I am curious if the dehydration would improve the diffraction now. Thanks Debasish Ph: (205)934-0124; Fax: (205)934-0480
