Understanding the three dimensional structures of proteins underpins drug design, biotechnology, and our understanding of many different diseases. VMXI determines protein structures without cryo cooling, so much closer to their natural temperatures. VMXI also measures diffraction data from protein crystals while still in their crystallization plates, avoiding any damage from mechanical handling.
In the future, we really want to exploit the incredible throughput of VMXI to explore large populations of crystals to identify lots of different structural states rather than the single structure people often obtain now. We also want to push towards drug development and carrying out fragment screening and optimization within crystallization plates. A new approach that shows enormous promise.
