Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Crystal Shifter® for?
Crystal Shifter® is trusted by leading crystallography labs worldwide, including research laboratories at top Pharmaceutical, Biotech, Synchrotron beamline, and Academic organizations. It is a complete platform, designed for labs of all sizes.
Is there a research paper evaluating benefits of the Crystal Shifter®?
Wright et al. (2019) published a study on the benefits of using Crystal Shifter®. They found that Crystal Shifter® significantly improved the efficiency of crystallography workflows, reduced the time spent on manual tasks, and increased the number of structures solved. All whilst maintaining or improving the quality of diffractions.
Read more at
Wright, et al (2021): "The low-cost Shifter microscope stage transforms the speed and robustness of protein crystal harvesting"
https://doi.org/10.1107/S2059798320014114 How can I purchase a Crystal Shifter® instrument?
You can purchase a Crystal Shifter® instrument directly from us. Contact us to discuss your requirements and get a quote.
Is Crystal Shifter® hardware or software?
Crystal Shifter® is more than just hardware. It is driven by the cutting-edge suite of software applications that cover all common workflows in a crystallography lab. All experiment data is recorded and integrated across popular equipment and beamlines. Designed by crystallographers for crystallographers, the software has been tried and tested in various labs globally.
How does Crystal Shifter® integrate with other solutions?
Crystal Shifter® integrates with popular instruments and solutions such as imagers, dispensers, beamline software, foot/hand controllers, barcode readers, and cameras. It can also be customized to integrate with your lab&s specific equipment or software. Contact us to learn more.
Where can OLT deliver the Crystal Shifter® instrument?
OLT can deliver and provide services globally - Crystal Shifter® instruments are used worldwide.
What Microscopes are supported? Can you provide a microscope?
Most popular brands and models of microscopes used in crystallography are supported. OLT can also provide a compatible microscope for your lab, along with a suggested configuration.
What maintenance is required for Crystal Shifter® instruments?
Once set up to your needs, the Crystal Shifter® requires minimal maintenance—just keep it clean and dust-free. OLT offers hardware maintenance and extended warranty plans.
What should I know before considering the purchase of a Crystal Shifter® instrument?
We recommend arranging a product demo or talking to one of our customers to understand its capabilities better.
What else will I need to operate Crystal Shifter®?
The Crystal Shifter® is designed for use with a Touch-Screen PC and a Microscope. Additional components like a microscope camera for imaging or a barcode reader for workflow automation can be provided upon request.
Crystal Shifter® integrates with popular lab instruments such as imagers, databases, dispensers, foot/hand controllers, barcode readers, and cameras.
Contact us to learn how Crystal Shifter® can accelerate your workflow and discuss your specific requirements.
Can OLT provide a compatible PC computer?
The Crystal Shifter® is designed for use with a Touch-Screen PC and a Microscope. OLT can supply a compatible touch-screen PC on request.
Can I use Crystal Shifter® for imaging hanging drop plates?
Yes, Crystal Shifter® can image both sitting and hanging drop plates, provided you have a compatible microscope camera.
Can I use Crystal Shifter® for soaking?
Yes, Crystal Shifter® has protocols to assist or drive manual and automated soaking of samples.
What Plates can I use with Crystal Shifter®?
Crystal Shifter® is designed for 96 well 3-drop “midi” plates but supports all popular crystallographic sitting drop plate formats of similar dimensions.Contact us to discuss your exact requirements.
Can Crystal Shifter® handle hanging drop plates?
Whilst typically used for sitting drop applications, Crystal Shifter® can also accommodate hanging drop plates with NexTal 15 drop guards.
Can I use different plate types at the same time?
Yes, Crystal Shifter® operates two plates simultaneously, allowing you to use different plate types, such as MRC3 and MRC2. This can be particularly useful for operations such as (manual) soaking or sample distribution from one plate type to another.
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