Research Progresses of Protein Crystal Growth in Microgravity Environment

Convection and sedimentation under normal gravity can be eliminated or reduced in a microgravity environment,which provides a relatively homogeneous and stable environment for protein crystallization.As a result,protein crystals of larger size and higher diffraction resolution can be obtained.These Space-grown crystals have been used to determine the 3-dimensional molecular structures of proteins via X-ray diffraction technique,which made significant contribution to structural biology.The research progresses made in this field are reviewed from the following four aspects: the history,the research results,the growth mechanism,as well as the problems and its solutions.Finally,the future expectation of protein crystallization in a microgravity environment is also presented.