Parker M W
Biota Structural Biology Laboratory, St. Vincent's Institute of Medical Research, 9 Princes Street, Fitzroy, Victoria 3065 Australia.
J Biol Phys. 2003 Dec;29(4):341-62. doi: 10.1023/A:1027310719146.
Protein crystallography is the study of the three-dimensional structures of proteins at near atomic resolution. It has provided at remendous insight into the workings of numerous biological processes over the last few decades. The field has undergone a massive worldwide expansion over the last ten years, not only in academic laboratories, but also in the pharmaceutical industry. The main driving force for this expansion has been the promise of using three-dimensional atomic structures of proteins and other macromolecules to design lead drugs and to improve the action of existing drugs.
蛋白质晶体学是在接近原子分辨率的水平上研究蛋白质的三维结构。在过去几十年里,它为深入了解众多生物过程的运作提供了巨大的帮助。在过去十年中,该领域在全球范围内经历了大规模的扩张,不仅在学术实验室,而且在制药行业。这种扩张的主要驱动力是利用蛋白质和其他大分子的三维原子结构来设计先导药物并改善现有药物作用的前景。