Microbatch macromolecular crystallization on a thermal gradient

We can exploit the temperature dependence of protein solubility in a blind search for optimal crystallization conditions by conducting experiments on thermal gradients. A microbatch technique coupled with a specially constructed thermal gradient allows us to conduct polythermal experiments over the range 6-30°C using as little as 7 μl of solution. The crystallization vessel is a micropipette commonly used in blood testing labs. As many as 150 simultaneous experiments can be conducted on a gradient machined out of a 200 × 250 × 25 mm aluminium plate.