Protein-ligand interaction probed by time-resolved crystallography.

Time-resolved (TR) crystallography is a unique method for determining the structures of intermediates in biomolecular reactions. The technique reached its mature stage with the development of the powerful third-generation synchrotron X-ray sources, and the advances in data processing and analysis of time-resolved Laue crystallographic data. A time resolution of 100 ps has been achieved and relatively small structural changes can be detected even from only partial reaction initiation. The remaining challenge facing the application of this technique to a broad range of biological systems is to find an efficient and rapid, system-specific method for the reaction initiation in the crystal. Other frontiers for the technique involve the continued improvement in time resolution and further advances in methods for determining intermediate structures and reaction mechanisms. The time-resolved technique, combined with trapping methods and computational approaches, holds the promise for a complete structure-based description of biomolecular reactions.