Seeing enzymes atom by atom
X-ray crystallography shows us enzymes in atomic detail, down to ultra-high, sub-ångström resolution. Structures guide how we engineer enzymes, explain how they recognize their substrates, and reveal how they work.
A structure turns a sequence into a mechanism. We solve crystal structures of the enzymes and receptors we study, such as lactonases, phosphotriesterases, phosphate-binding proteins and quorum-sensing receptors.
We push X-ray diffraction to ultra-high, sub-ångström resolution. At that level every atom is resolved, including hydrogen atoms, and details such as the geometry of a short hydrogen bond can be read directly from the electron density map.
Structures feed directly into protein engineering: they show which positions to change, and they check the result. We also build free, open tools that make crystallographic data processing easier to learn and to run.
Potential applications
- Enzyme design
