Crystallizing Proteins in Space for Drug Development
Comparison of space-grown (left) and Earth-grown (right) protein crystals
Media Credit: NASA
This recent Popular Mechanics article on protein crystallization in space discusses how space-grown crystals could lead to the development of new drugs. In the article, ISSInternational Space Station National Lab associate program scientist Ken Savin describes how knowledge of a protein’s structure is important in drug development.
The ISS National Lab is an ideal platform for many crystallization experiments because crystals grown in microgravity are often larger and more well-ordered than Earth-grown crystals. Higher-quality crystals may result in improved data to determine a protein’s structure and may enable analyses that provide greater structural detail. The more information researchers have about a protein’s structure, the better they can understand how the protein functions and design drugs that work with the protein. Several companies, such as pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly & Co., are conducting protein crystallization experiments on the ISS aimed at structure-based drug design.
Below, learn about some of the other ways investigators are using the unique microgravityThe condition of perceived weightlessness created when an object is in free fall, for example when an object is in orbital motion. Microgravity alters many observable phenomena within the physical and life sciences, allowing scientists to study things in ways not possible on Earth. The International Space Station provides access to a persistent microgravity environment. environment of the ISS National Lab to advance their crystallization research and development:
- A Merck & Co. investigation aimed at growing a crystalline suspension of millions of tiny uniform crystals, toward improving the formulation of the company’s cancer immunotherapy drug, Keytruda®
- An Oak Ridge National Laboratory experiment to crystallize the AChE enzyme, toward developing an improved antidote for nerve gas and pesticide poisoning
- An investigation by The Michael J. Fox Foundation to grow crystals of the LRRK2 protein, a key target in identifying the makeup of Parkinson’s disease