Effects of Microgravity Effects Effects of Microgravity of Microgravity on Crystallizaion of Glucose Isomerase on Crystallizaion of Glucose Isomerase -Collaborative Studies Collaborative Studies Collaborative Studiestoward the Proposal for the Proposal for the Proposal for Nanostep 2 Nanostep 2 Nanostep 2Project Project Project-

Abstract

We focus on the growth mechanism of protein crystals and their perfection. The growth mechanism will be studied by surface observation and by measuring growth rates. Crystal defects will be studied by special etching and X-ray topography. We successfully carried out Nanostep experiments in 2012 using lysozyme crystals as model protein crystals. To generalize this result, a NanoStep2 experiment is planned to be flown in near future using glucose isomerase crystals. We need to obtain ground based data for the comparison with the Nanostep data. International collaboration is important to share a wide range of expertise for optimal scientific interpretation from different points of view.