International
Tables for
Crystallography
Volume F
Crystallography of biological macromolecules
Edited by M. G. Rossmann and E. Arnold

© International Union of Crystallography 2006
International Tables for Crystallography (2006). Vol. F. ch. 4.1, pp. 85-86   | 1 | 2 |

Table 4.1.2.2 

R. Giegéa* and A. McPhersonb

a Unité Propre de Recherche du CNRS, Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, 15 rue René Descartes, F-67084 Strasbourg CEDEX, France, and bDepartment of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA 92717, USA
Correspondence e-mail:  R.Giege@ibmc.u-strasbg.fr

Table 4.1.2.2 | top | pdf |
Crystallizing agents for protein crystallization

(a) Salts.

Chemical No. of macromolecules No. of crystals
Ammonium salts: sulfate 802 979
phosphate 20 21
acetate 13 13
chloride, nitrate, citrate, sulfite, formate, diammonium phosphate 1–3 1–3
Calcium salts: chloride 12 12
acetate 6 8
Lithium salts: sulfate 33 34
chloride 17 19
nitrate 2 2
Magnesium salts: chloride 32 32
sulfate 13 14
acetate 6 7
Potassium salts: phosphate 42 79
chloride 15 17
tartrate, citrate, fluoride, nitrate, thiocyanate 1–3 1–3
Sodium salts: chloride 148 186
acetate 43 46
citrate 34 36
phosphate 28 36
sulfate, formate, nitrate, tartrate 3–10 3–10
acetate buffer, azide, citrate–phosphate, dihydrogenphosphate, sulfite, borate, carbonate, succinate, thiocyanate, thiosulfate 1 or 2 1 or 2
Other salts: sodium–potassium phosphate 60 65
phosphate (counter-ion not specified) 33 39
caesium chloride 18 24
phosphate buffer 10 11
trisodium citrate, barium chloride, sodium–potassium tartrate, zinc(II) acetate, cacodylate (arsenic salt), cadmium chloride 1 or 2 1–3

(b) Organic solvents.

Chemical No. of macromolecules No. of crystals
Ethanol 63 93
Methanol, isopropanol 27 or 25 31 or 28
Acetone 13 13
Dioxane, 2-propanol, acetonitrile, DMSO, ethylene glycol, n-propanol, tertiary butanol, ethyl acetate, hexane-1,6-diol 2–11 3–11
1,3-Propanediol, 1,4-butanediol, 1-propanol, 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol, chloroform, DMF, ethylenediol, hexane-2,5-diol, hexylene-glycol, N,N-bis(2-hydroxymethyl)-2-aminomethane, N-lauryl-N,N-dimethylamine-N-oxide, n-octyl-2-hydroxyethylsulfoxide, pyridine, saturated octanetriol, sec-butanol, triethanolamine–HCl 1 1

(c) Long-chain polymers.

Chemical No. of macromolecules No. of crystals
PEG 4000 238 275
PEG 6000 189 251
PEG 8000 185 230
PEG 3350 48 54
PEG 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000, 3400, 10 000, 12 000 or 20 000; PEG monomethyl ether 750, 2000 or 5000 2–18 2–20
PEG 3500, 3600 or 4500; polygalacturonic acid; polyvinylpyrrolidone 1 1

(d) Low-molecular-mass polymers and non-volatile organic compounds.

Chemical No. of macromolecules No. of crystals
MPD 283 338
PEG 400 40 45
Glycerol 33 34
Citrate, Tris–HCl, MES, PEG 600, imidazole–malate, acetate 2–11 4–12
PEG monomethyl ether 550, Tris–maleate, PEG 200, acetate, EDTA, HEPES 2 2
Sucrose, acetic acid, BES, CAPS, citric acid, glucose, glycine–NaOH, imidazole–citrate, Jeffamine ED 4000, maleate, MES–NaOH, methyl-1,2,2-pentanediol, N,N-bis-(2-hydroxymethyl)-2-aminomethane, N-lauryl-N,N-dimethylamine-N-oxide, n-octyl-2-hydroxyethylsulfoxide, rufianic acid, spermine–HCl, triethanolamine–HCl, triethylammonium acetate, Tris–acetate, urea 1 1 or 2

Abbreviations: BES: N,N-bis(2-hydroxyethyl)-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid; CAPS: 3-(cyclohexylamino)-1-propanesulfonic acid; DMF: dimethylformamide; DMSO: dimethyl sulfoxide; EDTA: (ethylenedinitrilo)tetraacetic acid; HEPES: N-(2-hydroxyethyl)piperazine-N′-(2-ethanesulfonic acid); MES: 2-(N-morpholino)ethanesulfonic acid; MPD: 2-methyl-2,4-pentanediol; PEG: polyethylene glycol; Tris: tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane.