Enabling technologies in discovery: The 2009 Nobel Prize and its implications in antibiotic design

The 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry recognized researchers for the illustration of the structure and function of the ribosome, the protein production machinery that translates the DNA blueprint. Ada E. Yonath, Weizmann Institute of Science with the coworkers obtained crystals from the 50S subunit from H. marismortui with a diffraction resolution of 3 Å. The development of several analytical methods such as the employment of CCD area-detectors for precise and automated analysis of X-ray diffraction patterns ensures the advancement in the researches. Several antibiotics based on the differences of the structures of the prokaryotic and eukaryotic ribosomes to selectively or preferentially target the prokaryotic ribosome to attack microorganisms and disrupt their protein synthesis. The advanced analytical science is focused on the design and development of enabling techniques and instrumentation for targeted applications that are employed to study the structure of proteins.