Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/D001439/1
Title:	Controlled nucleation of protein crystals on nanopatterned surfaces
Principal Investigator:	Sear, Dr R
Other Investigators:	Keddie, Professor JL Dalton, Professor AB
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Department of Physics
Organisation:	University of Surrey
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	22 August 2005	Ends:	21 February 2007	Value (£):	52,824
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Chemical Biology Surfaces & Interfaces
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	No relevance to Underpinning Sectors
Related Grants:	EP/D501113/1
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
Proteins are the major machinery of living things. For example, proteins called enzymes digest food, while other proteins detect light and so enable vision, and yet others play a role in photosynthesis. Although these proteins are only a few millionths of a millimetre across, they have complex and beautiful structures. In order for scientists to understand how proteins perform their various tasks, they need to know the structure of the protein. Determination of the structure of individuual molecules can be achieved via the scattering of X-rays. But this technique requires that the protein be crystallised. This is typically very hard to achieve. If the conditions are right, then starting with a solution of protein in water and observing with a microscope, crystals of the protein are seen to form spontaneously. The crystals may be cubic, like crystals of salt, or rhomboids or many other possible shapes. The proposed research will use nanotechnology to create indentations only a few tens of millionths of a millimetre deep in surfaces. We hope that these indentations will trigger the formation of protein crystals. Protein crystals start off as tiny clusters of only a few tens of protein molecules, and if the indentations are about the same size as the clusters, they should be right for the job. Scientists at the University of Surrey will use ultrasharp tips, similar to the end of a needle but much smaller, to create tiny indentations with a variety of shapes and sizes. Then scientists at Imperial College, who are experts at crystallising proteins, will put these surfaces into solutions of proteins and see whether they cause the protein to crystallise. If these indentations can aid the crystallisation of proteins that have not previously been crystallised, then their structures can be found. The structure of a protein can be used to design a drug molecule that targets the protein.
Key Findings
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Potential use in non-academic contexts
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Organisation Website:	http://www.surrey.ac.uk