MULTI-USER FACILITY FOR PROTEIN CRYSTAL GROWTH IN MICROGRAVITY: RESULTS FROM PCAM AND DCAM. Daniel C. Carter, Pam D. Twigg, Brenda Wright, Joseph X. Ho, Kapp Lim, Jenny Chapman, Teresa Miller, NASA ES76 Laboratory for Structural Biology, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama, USA

Two newly developed microgravity multi-user facility-based hardwares for protein crystal growth will be described. Both hardwares feature disposable interfaces for improved logistics and handling. PCAM (Protein Crystallization Apparatus for Microgravity) is a high capacity device which closely approximates a common laboratory vapor diffusion method to grow crystals. DCAM (Diffusion-controlled Crystallization Apparatus for Microgravity) is a unique multi-user dialysis device which offers passive control of the diffusion profiles for each individual experiment. DCAM was specifically designed for long duration microgravity opportunities. The hardware is operated as government facility and access is provided through peer reviewed proposals. Significant improvements in crystal size and perfection obtained from flight experiments conducted over the course of less than a year will be described.