bioRxivBiophysicsPreprint
Millisecond cryo-trapping by the spitrobot crystal plunger simplifies time-resolved crystallography
P. Mehrabi, S. Sung, D. von Stetten, A. Prester, C. E. Hatton, S. Kleine-Doepke, A. Berkes, G. Gore, J.-P. Leimkohl, H. Schikora, M. Kollewe, H. Rohde, M. Wilmanns, F. Tellkamp, E. C. Schulz
Abstract
We introduce the spitrobot, a protein crystal plunger, enabling reaction quenching via cryo-trapping with millisecond time-resolution. Canonical micromesh loops are mounted on an electropneumatic piston, reactions are initiated via the liquid application method (LAMA), and finally intermediate states are cryo-trapped in liquid nitrogen. We demonstrate binding of several ligands in microcrystals of three enzymes, and trapping of reaction intermediates and conformational changes in macroscopic crystals of tryptophan synthase.
- assay: cryo-EM
- assay: structural biology
- research focus: protein structure prediction
- research focus: protein folding & dynamics
- approach: experimental assay
Reproducibility ledger
Nobody has reported trying to reproduce this paper yet. Did you replicate an experiment or run the code? Your report saves the next lab a week.
Sign in to file a reproducibility report.
Related papers
- Best practices for cryo-trapping time-resolvedcrystallography with the Spitrobot crystal plunger
Robert Bosman, Caitlin E. Hatton, … Eike C. Schulz·Protein SciencePeer-reviewed·Sep 15, 2026
- SPITROBOT-2 advances time-resolved cryo-trapping crystallography to under 25 ms
Maria Spiliopoulou, Caitlin E. Hatton, … Eike C. Schulz·Communications ChemistryPeer-reviewed·Nov 20, 2025
- Time-resolved cryo-EM using a combination of droplet microfluidics with on-demand jetting
S. TORINO, M. Dhurandhar, … R. G. Efremov·bioRxiv·Oct 21, 2022
- Drop on fixed target reaction initiation approach for serial and time resolved crystallography
Jos J. A. G. Kamps, Philip Hinchliffe, … Pierre Aller·IUCrJPeer-reviewed·May 19, 2026
- Droplet microfluidics for time-resolved serial crystallography
J. Stubbs, T. Hornsey, … J. West·bioRxiv·Jan 12, 2024
- Microsecond melting and revitrification of cryo samples with a correlative light-electron microscopy approach
G. Bongiovanni, O. F. Harder, … U. J. Lorenz·bioRxiv·Sep 14, 2022