mjvanraaij wrote:
> how about this for a general idea:
>
> resolution is related to order in the crystals, more order = diffraction
> to higher resolution
> the order is determined by crystal contacts, stronger crystal contacts =
> more order
> more solvent means, on average, less close packing and less crystal
> contacts
> (of course, there are cases where only a few strong crystal contacts
> make for a very highly ordered crystal diffracting to high resolution,
> so there are quite a few exceptions of high solvent content being
> compatible with high resolution diffraction)
>
> or is this too simplistic?
> (and widely known?)
Sounds very reasonable to me. One the positive side (and this may be what
Roger was thinking of), for a given amount of protein in the asymmetric unit,
increased solvent content means a larger unit cell and finer sampling of the
molecular transform, -> more reflections and thus a greater data/param ratio
at a given resolution. Also solvent flattening becomes more powerful.
Ed
|