Fluidigm Corporation And Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Awarded Phase II STTR Grant To Develop Microfluidic Chip For In Situ Diffraction Of Protein Crystals

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Fluidigm Corporation and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have received funding from The National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a microfluidic chip for collection of in situ X-ray diffraction data. The diffraction-capable chip will be designed so that protein crystals can be screened at a synchrotron without having to first remove them from the chip. The new technology will allow researchers to identify the best crystals for diffraction experiments using actual X-ray data rather than relying on qualitative measures, such as visual inspection. This chip-based method will eliminate the need to manipulate crystals prior to data collection, a step that often results in mechanical damage to the fragile crystals.