Re: [ccp4bb] lcp crystal extraction
Hi All, Just wanted to update this field in case someone in the future runs into the same problem as me. The problem was concerning the Laminex plates with the thick UV lid. The thickness of the lid cannot be stressed enough. While very good for preventing evaporation it was simply not practical for extracting the crystals. Some people suggested to use a blade or a hypodermic needle to scratch my way through the plastic but after much labor and using no less than 5 different tools (surgical blade, X-acto knife, glass scribe, glass cutter and a sort of hole cutter) I had not even made a dent into the thing. I believe their advice comes from using thin film covers. The solution was given to me from a colleague who suggested to heat up a surgical blade under a bunsen burner and use it to cut/melt the plastic around the well. This was still a tedious process (kudos to Molecular Probes for making the glue around the wells so strong - evaporation is a great concern with these plates) but in the end it got me the required result of opening the well. I later used a hot knife/solding iron with a blade and that made it very easy to open the well. I have some concerns about how the heat might effect the crystal but both glass and the plastic appear to be of low heat conductivity. I hope this was helpful and thanks to the people that suggested solutions. Cheers Konstantin
Re: [ccp4bb] lcp crystal extraction
Hi Konstantin, I use #11 Classic Fine Point Blades from X-acto to cut through the plastic Laminex film covers without much of an issue. If you decide to use glass covers rather than plastic, Hampton sells a nice glass-cutting tool ( http://hamptonresearch.com/product_detail.aspx?cid=18sid=203pid=626). Cheers, Jim On Thu, Mar 28, 2013 at 3:26 PM, Konstantin Knoblich knobl...@wehi.edu.auwrote: Hi All, I am wondering if anyone has tried to retrieve a crystal from a Molecular Dimension LCP plate. What would you recommend as a method? The plastic is too flexible to be cut as it squashes the drop when you try it. Is there another way someone has successfully done this? Thanks in advance for your input. Konstantin -- Jim Fairman, Ph D. Crystal Core Leader I Emerald BioStructures http://www.emeraldbiostructures.com/ Tel: 206-780-8914 Cell: 240-479-6575 E-mail: fairman@gmail.com jfair...@embios.com
