So the implication is that some of these treatments might allow the protein to overcome energetic barriers that are prohibitive in solution--after the protein is already in the solid state and not in solution any more?
Another view is that crystallization is a result of stabilizing conformations that are accessible in solution.
On the point of physiological relevance, it wasn't mentioned in the original question.
James
On Feb 10, 2012, at 1:34 PM, Nat Echols wrote:
> On Fri, Feb 10, 2012 at 12:29 PM, James Stroud <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> How could they not be snapshots of conformations adopted in solution?
>
> Packing billions of copies of an irregularly-shaped protein into a
> compact lattice and freezing it to 100K isn't necessarily
> representative of "solution", especially when your solution contains
> non-physiological amounts of salt and various organics (and possibly
> non-physiological pH too).
>
> -Nat
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