Re: [ccp4bb] lcp crystal extraction

[Konstantin Knoblich]

Hi  All,

Just wanted to update this field in case someone in the future runs into the 
same problem as me. The problem was concerning the Laminex plates with the 
thick UV lid. The thickness of the lid cannot be stressed enough. While very 
good for preventing evaporation it was simply not practical for extracting the 
crystals. Some people suggested to use a blade or a hypodermic needle to 
scratch my way through the plastic but after much labor and using no less than 
5 different tools (surgical blade, X-acto knife, glass scribe, glass cutter and 
a sort of hole cutter) I had not even made a dent into the thing. I believe 
their advice comes from using thin film covers.
The solution was given to me from a colleague who suggested to heat up a 
surgical blade under a bunsen burner and use it to cut/melt the plastic around 
the well. This was still a tedious process (kudos to Molecular Probes for 
making the glue around the wells so strong - evaporation is a great concern 
with these plates) but in the end it got me the required result of opening the 
well. I later used a hot knife/solding iron with a blade and that made it very 
easy to open the well. I have some concerns about how the heat might effect the 
crystal but both glass and the plastic appear to be of low heat conductivity. I 
hope this was helpful and thanks to the people that suggested solutions.

Cheers

Konstantin

Re: [ccp4bb] lcp crystal extraction

[Jim Fairman]

Hi Konstantin,

I use "#11 Classic Fine Point Blades" from X-acto to cut through the
plastic Laminex film covers without much of an issue.  If you decide to use
glass covers rather than plastic, Hampton sells a nice glass-cutting tool (
http://hamptonresearch.com/product_detail.aspx?cid=18&sid=203&pid=626).

Cheers, Jim

On Thu, Mar 28, 2013 at 3:26 PM, Konstantin Knoblich
wrote:

> Hi All,
>
> I am wondering if anyone has tried to retrieve a crystal from a Molecular
> Dimension LCP plate. What would you recommend as a method? The plastic is
> too flexible to be cut as it squashes the drop when you try it. Is there
> another way someone has successfully done this? Thanks in advance for your
> input.
>
> Konstantin
>



-- 
Jim Fairman, Ph D.
Crystal Core Leader I
Emerald BioStructures 
Tel: 206-780-8914
Cell: 240-479-6575
E-mail: fairman@gmail.com jfair...@embios.com

[ccp4bb] lcp crystal extraction

[Konstantin Knoblich]

Hi All,

I am wondering if anyone has tried to retrieve a crystal from a Molecular 
Dimension LCP plate. What would you recommend as a method? The plastic is too 
flexible to be cut as it squashes the drop when you try it. Is there another 
way someone has successfully done this? Thanks in advance for your input.

Konstantin