Oxford Diffraction announces the launch of the PX Scanner: the first ever commercial instrument for in-situ X-ray inspection of protein crystals in multi-well plates.

Oxford Diffraction announces the product launch of the first commercial instrument for combined optical inspection and in-situ X-ray diffraction of protein crystals in multi-well plates in a single compact instrument.

Today, at the American Crystallography Association meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii, Oxford Diffraction announced the launch of its ground-breaking new product, the PX Scanner. Unlike any other instrument on the market, the PX Scanner permits the inspection of selected crystals which are growing in multi-well plates with both optical microscopes and a pin-point X-ray beam. This unique capability is a breakthrough for protein crystallisation screening since this enables the easy discrimination of protein from salt crystals at a very early stage – potentially saving weeks, or months, of lost time, as well as large quantities of protein, due to falsely identified hits. Furthermore, the PX Scanner can quantitatively assess crystals growing in-situ before they are harvested; assigning relative values for resolution limit and mosaicity and often obtaining the unit cell.

The PX Scanner is an entirely new concept instrument comprising a microfocus X-ray source, a CCD detector for X-ray detection, an X-Y stage to translate the plates with rotational capability to enable diffraction scans, as well as a high precision optical microscope. The whole instrument and all ancillary equipment such as chillers, interfaces, computers etc. are contained within a highly compact, radiation-safe enclosure whose footprint is just 61 cm x 65 cm (< 0.4 square metres). The PX Scanner is designed to sit conveniently within a crystallisation room and requires only standard mains electricity and a water supply.

Designed for use by technicians as well as scientists, the PX Scanner accepts all SBS format multi-well plates. A database records successive optical and X-ray images of each selected crystal within different wells so that its growth may be tracked and crystal images compared between plates, over time.

The Chief Executive of Oxford Diffraction, Dr. Paul Loeffen, said “The PX Scanner has created considerable excitement in the community in the run up to the product launch in Honolulu and we are now looking forward to demonstrating the system more widely. We are convinced that this novel instrument will be of great benefit to protein crystallographers and will contribute to developing the field further”.

To learn more about the PX Scanner or to book a demonstration, please contact sales@oxford-diffraction.com. Following the American Crystallography Association meeting, the PX Scanner will also be exhibited in August at the 23rd European Crystallographic Meeting in Leuven, Belgium, and at the 11th International Conference on Crystallization of BioMacromolecules in Quebec City, Canada.