X-Ray Structure Analysis of Proteins and Its Relation to Other Fields : With Special Reference to Molecular Pharmacology

Abstract

There are two different techniques for the X-ray structure analyses of materials ; that for small molecules and that for macromolecules. The latter technique, is called"protein crystallography."The characteristics of protein crystallography as opposed to ordinary crystallography for small molecules are described. Some of the achievements of protein crystallography and their impact on other scientific fields are discussed, and perspectives for the possible contribution of protein crystallography to molecular pharmacology are given.