NEW YORK, May 27 (GenomeWeb News) - Bruker AXS has signed an agreement with software firm Formulatrix to combine its Crystal Farm protein crystallization incubation and imaging system with Formulatrix's Rock Maker software, the companies said today.
"By controlling both the liquid handling robotics and the incubation and optical scanning in the Crystal Farm, the Rock Maker software 'closes the loop' to allow crystallization conditions to be rapidly scanned and then optimized," Roger Durst, Bruker AXS' chief technology officer, said in a statement.
The companies did not disclose the financial terms of deal.
Formulatrix, of Madison, Wis., markets Rock Maker for automation and tracking of the protein crystallization process. The software includes features related to experiment design, liquid dispensing, plate storage and retrieval, and imaging. The system can be used with different systems for liquid handling, plate storage, and retrieval imaging, the company said.
Bruker AXS claims its Crystal Farm is "the first integrated incubation and imaging system for protein crystallization to be offered to the crystallography community." The system has a capacity of 400 plates, an environmentally controlled incubator and the company's "cool flash: imaging technology.