Automatic system for crystallographic data collection and analysis

During the last 10 years the rate of new protein structures determined by X-ray crystallography has risen about tenfold. The use of high flux sources was instrumental in this growth. There are numerous advantages of using synchrotron radiation for protein crystallography: rapid data collection, use of micro-crystals and the ability to conduct measurements at wide range of wavelengths. The rate-limiting step is often the ability to analyze and back up a fast stream of data produced by a multi-module CCD detector. The goal of the newly developed HKL-2000 package is to integrate all computational activities that have to be performed during the data collection experiment. The Graphical Command Center of HKL-2000 organizes and forwards the data collection parameters to the display, indexing, strategy, simulation, refinement, integration, scaling, and merging tasks. Data acquisition can become a part of data processing (or vice versa), which includes indexing, integration, scaling, and even phasing. The increase in internet band width will provide an opportunity to remotely interact with the experimental setup and perform the synchrotron experiment from the home laboratory.