X-Ray Crystallography

This chapter describes the fundamentals of the X-ray crystallography method and its application for studies of tertiary protein structures. A brief introduction to the theory of X-ray diffraction is given, followed by more detailed explanations of all protein structure determination stages, starting from crystal growth up to the final validation of protein structure. We emphasize the theoretical and practical aspects of the protein crystallization process which is the most crucial step of X-ray protein crystallography.