FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:             Linda Joy
June 3, 1994                       (301) 975-4403

                                   TN-5981


                  NEW VERSION OF PROTEIN CRYSTAL DATABASE

                      INCLUDES NASA SPACE EXPERIMENTS


     A newly expanded database on crystal growth conditions of
biological macromolecules is now available to help structural
biology programs of the pharmaceutical and food industries
improve medicines, vaccines, food products and other industrial
processes.

     Crystals of biological macromolecules are essential for
X-ray structure determinations that are required for rational
drug design and protein engineering programs.

     The NIST/NASA/CARB Biological Macromolecule Crystallization
Database has been expanded to include the NASA Protein Crystal
Growth Archive and data from international microgravity
experiments.

     The database was developed by Gary L. Gilliland, research
chemist for the National Institute of Standards and Technology
and associate director of the Center for Advanced Research in
Biotechnology.  CARB was established in 1984 by NIST, the
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Montgomery
County, Md., as a unique center for government, academic and
industry collaboration.

     Version 3.0 of the Biological Macromolecule Crystallization
Database includes data on more than 2,000 crystal structures of
1,500 biological macromolecules.  Pharmaceutical manufacturers
use protein structures in designing drugs, while chemical
companies use them to understand and alter the action of enzymes. 
Information on three-dimensional atomic structures of a protein
is an invaluable aid in understanding the protein's function.  

     Growing protein crystals is often the first step in
determining a protein's structure, Gilliland explains.  It is
also often the most difficult and time-consuming part of the
process.  The database can assist researchers' attempts to grow
crystals by providing information on known crystallization
conditions for similar proteins.

     Crystals included in the database are those published in
scientific literature through the middle of 1993.  Users can
search for data by 20 different parameters, such as macromolecule
name, crystal density, crystallization method and year reported. 
The macromolecules in the database include proteins, nucleic
acids, viruses, peptides and complex combinations of these
biological molecules.

     The database provides researchers with a convenient method
for verifying whether a particular macromolecule has been
crystallized and, if so, provides the details for reproducing the
experiment.  

     The expanded database is available for $415.  It requires
seven megabytes of storage space on IBM AT Class or PS/2 PC
(80286-80486 chip) with PC-DOS or MS-DOS 2.1 or higher operating
system, and 512 kilobytes of memory.  It can be used on MacIntosh
computers with PC emulator software.  Owners of previous versions
may upgrade for $90.  

     To order the NIST/NASA/CARB Biological Macromolecule
Crystallization Database, contact the NIST Standard Reference
Data Program, A323 Physics Building, Gaithersburg, Md. 20899-
0001, (301) 975-2208, fax: (301) 926-0416, e-mail:
srdata@enh.nist.gov (via Internet).

     As a non-regulatory agency of the Commerce Department's
Technology Administration, NIST promotes U.S. economic growth by
working with industry to develop and apply technology,
measurements and standards.

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