New Alignment Tool for Researchers

The new MicroRT™ Aligner simplifies the use of Mitegen's MicroRT™ Capillary System, and provides researchers with a fast and easy method to collect room temperature diffraction data. Until recently, crystallographers have avoided room temperature because the traditional glass capillary method for mounting samples is too difficult.   

With the MicroRT™ Aligner and polymer MicroRT™ capillaries, researchers can go from a crystal in its growth solution to the X-ray beam in as little as one minute, with near perfect chance of success. The cause of poor low-temperature diffraction can now be quickly diagnosed.  If diffraction is first screened at room temperature, large amounts of time now wasted optimizing, cryoprotecting and flash cooling crystals that are too poorly ordered to yield structures can be eliminated.  The MicroRT™ Capillary System is a powerful new tool in the crystallographer’s arsenal.  
 
According to Robert Newman, CEO of Mitegen, “We are glad to be able to offer such a time-saving tool to crystallographers.  It is a direct product of Mitegen’s tradition of listening to our customers and then developing high quality tools to meet their needs.”
 
The MicroRT™ Aligner’s design allows users to quickly guide MicroRT™ capillary tubing over and past their crystal and onto a goniometer base with very little risk of crystal contact or damage.
 
“The product has undergone a ‘soft launch’ to select users, with extremely positive feedback” says Newman.  “This advance will have a broad impact on researchers in fields including protein, small molecule, virus and time-resolved crystallography.”

Mitegen’s easy-to-use tools have had a dramatic impact on all fields of crystallography.  With the easy access to diffraction from pristine crystals and large improvements in research productivity enabled by the MicroRT™ Capillary System, it is an easy decision for researchers to make room temperature screening a standard step in their crystallography protocols.