High-Throughput Crystallization Screening Center

Our Expertise – Your Results

The High-Throughput Crystallization Screening Center performs crystal-growth screening experiments in 1,536-well microassay plates for both soluble and membrane biological macromolecules. You send the sample, we do the rest.

Crystallization Center Announcements

May and June 2020 (updated 05/27/2020)

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, the HWI structural biology team is active and able to support your scientific efforts in confronting this threat.

We are happy to announce the Crystallization Center will have a June 2020 protein crystallization screening run for all samples.

  • Reservation Deadline:  Friday June 12th
  • Package Acceptance: Tuesday June 16th – Thursday June 25th
  • Plate Setup:

Tuesday June 16th – Thursday June 18th

Monday June 22nd – Thursday June 25

Please note samples will not be set up for screening on Fridays

The HWI Crystallization Center is also operating for crystallization screening for COVID-19 related structural work (non-infectious samples).  We are offering access to resources for critical research related to SARS-CoV-2 structural biology work.

For coronavirus related samples, we continue to enable rapid, efficient, mail-in screening for crystallization conditions using minimal sample volumes. Please email sbowman@hwi.buffalo.edu or htslab@hwi.buffalo.edu for information regarding these options.

Stay healthy!

How It Works:

From February 2000, the laboratory has been used to set up over 24 million crystallization experiments on >16,000 biological macromolecules. Nearly 2,000 laboratories worldwide have used and benefited from the service.

  • At the Crystallization Center 1,536 different chemical conditions are sampled representing many of the commercially available crystallization screens. Each condition is imaged visually over a period of six weeks. Second Order Non-linear Imaging of Chiral Crystals (SONICC) and UV Two Photon Excited Fluorescence (UV-TPEF) imaging of crystallization screening also take place to identify biological crystals not picked up visually or those obscured by precipitate.
  • Color images, and SONICC and UV-TPEF images are integrated with the analysis software provided as part of the service. Lead crystallization conditions can be identified and the complete set of results used to analyze the samples solubility phase diagram.
  • Current list of crystallization cocktails.

Crystallization Center Policies and User Fees

Commercial users please inquire about using the Crystallization Center by emailing sbowman@hwi.buffalo.edu or check us out on Science Exchange or scientist.com.

New at HWI Crystallization Center!

We are on Twitter! 

MacroscopeJ and Catalina macOS

MacroscopeJ for macOS is a 32 bit app and, starting with Catalina, no longer supported by macOS.

We are currently working on a new release which will be fully supported on Catalina.

The new version of MacroscopeJ is in your ftp folder when you transfer your images – please let us know how it is working!

Accessing your images via the ftp server.

  • Because of recent changes for both Mac and Windows OS, we recommend using FileZilla to access and transfer images from the ftp server, as it works across platforms.
  • For more details: Analyze Your Results

Online submission form

In May 2018 we started using an online submission form.

  • To make a reservation, please email htslab@hwi.buffalo.edu by the reservation deadline (see above for current dates) to reserve a space in the queue.  Include the following information in your reservation email:
  1. User name and contact information
  2. PI/Institution name and contact information
  3. Number of samples you will be sending, as well as approximate date you will be shipping the sample(s)
  • You will receive an email confirmation from us for your reservation.  Once your sample is ready to ship, please fill out the online submission form including payment information.