Article Neutron Crystallography and SARS-CoV-2 - Cryo-EM Feedback - Upcoming 2021 Events - Prescreening Agent Update - Industry Jobs & News
Article - Unusual Zwitterionic Catalytic Site of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease Revealed by Neutron Crystallography
Image Credit: Kneller, et al.
A recent article in the Journal of Biological Chemistry by Daniel W. Kneller, et al. used neutron crystallography to determine the protonation states of key residues of the SARS-CoV-2 main protease to aid drug design efforts against COVID-19.

This research answered the, "critical question in the field has been what the protonation states of the ionizable residues in the substrate-binding active-site cavity are; resolving this point would help understand the catalytic details of the enzyme and inform rational drug development against this pernicious virus."

MiTeGen supplied crystallography tools for this research.
Let Us Be Your Crystallography Supplier
As shown in the above article, scientists put their trust in us to be their supplier for crystallography tools. In addition, our tools are back by over 4000 citations.

Let us be your partner in research using crystallography. We can supply you with tools for crystallization, crystal harvesting, cryocooling, and data collection. This includes loops, plates, pucks, screening agents, bases, cryocooling equipment and more.
Customer Feedback On Cryo-EM Tweezers
We are thankful for customer feedback concerning how our tools made their research more successful. Listed below is feedback we recently received concerning our Nanosoft Cryo tweezers.

"We are very happy with the design and ease of use. It’s much easier to handle the grids without adding too much pressure/force to the grids with the risk of bending. Also the backstopper when mounting the tweezer is great ensuring that it’s centered. Lastly the reduced weight due to less metal hinders the thawing of the solid ethane better. "
- Carsten S.
Upcoming Events
At MiTeGen, we sponsor numerous events, conferences, workshops and symposiums throughout the year. These events include fields such as structural biology, crystallography, cryo-EM, beamline research and more. We believe in supporting researchers and our industry. Listed below are two upcoming events you might find interesting.
iNEXT-Discovery 1st Annual Scientific Meeting will take place online on February 16th, 2021 and is open to anyone with an interest in modern structural biology, recent technological developments and their applications. You'll also have a chance to learn about iNEXT. MiTeGen is helping sponsor this event.
The 8th BioXFEL Conference is virtual this year and held February 2nd to 4th. It brings together experts in a variety of fields (structural biology, physics, biochemistry, and more) to discuss the most recent advances in structural biology using X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs). MiTeGen is helping sponsor this event.
Looking For More Events, Workshops and Conferences
If you are looking for more events visit our events page. It lists conferences, workshops, symposiums, user meetings and more.

Topics include structural biology, material science, crystallography, cryo-EM, beamline research and more.
Polyvalan Crystallphore Product Update
We have a product update concerning the Polyvalan Crystallophore pre-screening agents which includes a citation and method of use.

As described by de Wijn, R and al. Crystals 2020, 10, 65, upon injection of 1 µl of Polyvalan Crystallophore (Xo4, symbolized by the green line), the enzyme immediately reacted and formed
larger objects that grew up to size of ~1 µm in a drop that remained clear...then crystal growth is a matter of time.

Methods of use: the Xo4 powder shall be directly dissolved with the protein solution at a concentration of 10 mM, just before running crystallization screening. As hits have already been
obtained from 2 mM and up to 50 mM and more, it’s also possible to play with the Xo4 concentration, by forming the drop through the mixing of 1 vol of protein solution + 1 vol of Xo4 solution + 1 vol of precipitant (in that order = Xo4 first).
Industry Resources and News
Here is a small selection of hand picked industry resources and news for your browsing.

  • Help the Fraser Lab at UCSF follow-up on "Fragment Binding to the Nsp3 Macrodomain of SARS-CoV-2 Identified Through Crystallographic Screening & Computational Docking" and other targets. The Fraser Lab is a well resourced lab at UCSF with access to great instrumentation for fragment screening (e.g. NANUQ, shifter, Echo) and multiple synchrotrons. They can provide training relevant to a future career in industry or academia (recruiting at the postdoc or staff scientist level) - Learn More
  • The 23rd National School on Neutron and X-Ray Scattering will be held virtually from July 12-30, 2021. The main purpose of the school is to educate graduate students in the use of major neutron and x-ray facilities - Learn More
  • The iNEXT discovery series for 2021 is in progress. Features live and recorded discussions concerning structural biology. Also serves as a gateway to learn more about the facilities that are part of iNEXT - Learn More
  • The EMBO Young Investigator Program is now accepting applications. Through it EMBO identifies and supports some of the best young researchers in the life sciences. EMBO Young Investigators are group leaders in the early stages of setting up an independent laboratory in EMBC Member or Associate Member States. They receive financial and practical support for a period of four years to help them develop skills and connections that will help them during this career stage - Learn More
  • MAX IV Laboratory & ESS Science colloquium series continue in 2021 in a virtual format. The aim of these colloquia is to bring the science made possible by neutrons and synchrotron radiation into focus, and to bring people at ESS and MAX IV and the local science community together. They are held one Wednesday afternoon per month - Learn More 
  • Learn about #ASAPpdb and how structural biologists are committing to releasing data with preprints - Learn More
  • The Way For Light website is a catalog of European Lightsource and beyond. Provides an interesting view of facilities and resources - Learn More
  • The 6th call to access synchrotrons through European CalipsoPlus project. Small and medium companies (SMEs) can ask for funded beamtime in different European light sources. Deadline is the 30th of June 2021 - Learn More
Industry Jobs
Given the importance of structural biology and related fields, there are numerous job openings available. Listed below is a small selection of the jobs we are aware of:

  • The Simons Machine Learning Center (SMLC) at the New York Structural Biology Center is looking for Postdocs and Research Scientists to join SMLC to develop machine learning and computer vision methods for analyzing cryo-EM and cryo-ET data - Learn More
  • The Copp Lab at the University of California, Irvine is immediately seeking a postdoctoral researcher in the area of DNA nanotechnology and metal-mediated base pairing - Learn More
  • EMBL-EBI are looking to recruit a Coordinator to lead its EMDB resource and activities. This is a senior position, reporting directly to Dr Ardan Patwardhan who has overall responsibility for EMBL-EBI’s EM-archiving activities. It provides a rare and exciting opportunity for a motivated scientist with experience in this rapidly expanding and developing field to have a huge impact on how the scientific community archives, validates and re-uses EM data - Learn More
  • The National Synchrotron Light Source-II (NSLS-II) at Brookhaven National Laboratory seeks a postdoctoral research associate to join the Structural Biology program that operates two state-of-the-art macromolecular crystallography (MX) beamlines, one life-sciences scattering beamline, and a cryo-EM facility - Learn More
  • Boehringer Ingelheim and the IMP recently purchased a Titan Krios G4 to complete the existing cryo set-up including a Glacios and several sample preparation devices and are looking for a highly motivated electron microscopist - Learn More
  • The lab of Da-Neng Wang at the Skirball Institute of NYU School of Medicine has a postdoc position available to study the structure and mechanism of membrane transporters - Learn More
  • Civetta Therapeutics (Cambridge, MA) is recruiting a Scientist to Senior Scientist level position in Protein Sciences - Learn More
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