Crystal growth procedure of HIV-1 protease-inhibitor KNI-272 complex for neutron structural analysis at 1.9 resolution

Shimizu, Noriko*; Sugiyama, Shigeru*; Maruyama, Mihoko*; Takahashi, Yoshinori*; Adachi, Motoyasu; Tamada, Taro; Hidaka, Koshi*; Hayashi, Yoshio*; Kimura, Toru*; Kiso, Yoshiaki*; Adachi, Hiroaki*; Takano, Kazufumi*; Murakami, Satoshi*; Inoue, Tsuyoshi*; Kuroki, Ryota; Mori, Yusuke*; Matsumura, Hiroyoshi*

We report crystal growth of human immunodeficiency virus 1 protease (HIV PR) in a complex with its inhibitor KNI-272 by six different methods. Comparative analysis indicates that top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) and TSSG combined with the floating and stirring technique (TSSG-FAST) are efficient strategies for rapidly obtaining large single crystals and effectively preventing polycrystallization of the seed crystal. Neutron diffraction analysis confirmed that the crystalobtained by TSSG is a high-quality single crystal. Furthermore, crystal shape was observed to be influenced by solution flow, suggesting that the degree of supersaturation significantly affects the crystal growth direction of HIV PR complex. This finding implies that the shape of the HIV PR complex crystal might be controlled by the solution flow rate.