For preparing your experiment, P11 has its own user laboratory which is close to the P11 experimental hutch. The laboratory is classified as a chemistry laboratory and has the room designation "L047" within the Max Von Laue hall (Building 47c).
P11 user laboratory is equipped with:
- crystallization consumables (crystallization plates and standard chemicals to prepare buffers, cryo-protectants and precipitants)
- Unipucks (the standard sample format at P11)
- cryogenic tools for fishing, repacking and storing the samples (cryotongs, crystal manipulation tools, foam and storage dewars)
- liquid nitrogen filling station in the direct vicinity of the laboratory
In addition, P11 user laboratory has the following equipment:
- Leica 205C stereo microscope equipped with a digital camera
- OLT Crystal Shifter
- fume hood
- centrifuge
- vortex mixer
- pH meter
- ultrasonic bath
- refrigerator (4°C)
- freezer (-20°C)
- crystal growing incubator
- ThermoStat
Registration and Safety
Our lab is a chemistry lab, where work with biological agents is forbidden. If you wish to work with biological agents on one of the on-site facilities, please contact the lab responsible and we will help you with your request.
To access the P11 chemistry laboratory, users are requested to:
-
Update their online safety training in DOOR including the following modules:
- Basic-Instructions
- PETRA III
- Chemistry Lab
- Liquid Nitrogen (in case you need to manipulate liquid nitrogen)
- Put in a request in DOOR in the Safety requirements tab: "Access to chemistry laboratory"
Futhermore, you will need an on-site training for the laboratory. More information on the registration and safety requirements to PETRA III Sample Environment and Laboratories are available here.
Crystal Shifter
P11 Lab is equipped with Crystal Shifter, a device for facilitating crystal harvesting and soaking experiments.
This motorized, interactive microscope stage can be used for crystal mounting as well as soaking experiments and greatly extends the lifetime of the crystallization drops. Using the control software of the shifter, all experimental annotations can be archived in detail, being readily available for the beamtime at P11, hence removing the need for manual documentation.
Your crystallisation plates can be prepared, for example, at the EMBL Hamburg Sample Preparation and Characterisation Faclity located in the vicinity of P11 Lab. It offers a fully automated platform for the high-throughput crystallisation of biological macromolecules with remotely accessible web-based Crystallization Information Management System for inspection of results.
In case you wish to use the Crystal Shifter, specify your request at the registration stage and fulfil the requirements for accessing the P11 laboratory. Before using the shifter for the first time, you will also need an on-site training for accessing the laboratory as well as operating the device.
More instructions can be found from the P11 Lab computer.
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References
- The low-cost Shifter microscope stage transforms the speed and robustness of protein crystal harvesting, N. Wright et al., Acta Cryst. D 77, 62 (2021).
