Zhou, Xuechang. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-53). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.i / 摘要 --- p.ii / Acknowledgement --- p.iii / Table of contents --- p.iv / Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Protein crystallization --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- The principle of protein crystallization --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Protein crystallization approaches --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Screening strategies and approaches --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2 --- Microfluidic systems for protein crystallization --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Integrated valve-controlled microfluidic system --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Droplet-based microfluidic system --- p.9 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Objective of the research --- p.10 / Chapter 2 --- Nanoliter Liquid Dispensing Method --- p.12 / Chapter 2.1 --- Introduction --- p.12 / Chapter 2.2 --- Experimental --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- The fabrication of SU-8 master --- p.14 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- The fabrication of PDMS microfluidic device --- p.16 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- The fabrication of glass and PMMA microwells --- p.17 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- The liquid dispensing into microwells --- p.17 / Chapter 2.3 --- Results and discussions --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.1 --- The internal vacuum pumping source --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3.2 --- The efficiency of the pumping --- p.23 / Chapter 2.3.3 --- The removal of PDMS channel patch --- p.26 / Chapter 2.4 --- Conclusion --- p.29 / Chapter 3 --- The Screening of Protein Crystallization Conditions --- p.30 / Chapter 3.1 --- Introduction --- p.30 / Chapter 3.2 --- Experimental --- p.31 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- The design and fabrication of the screening chip --- p.31 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- The screening of protein crystallization conditions --- p.32 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Crystallization and X-ray diffraction of an unknown protein --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3 --- Results and discussions --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3.1 --- Sparse matrix screening strategy in microwell arrays --- p.33 / Chapter 3.3.2 --- The results of the sparse matrix screening --- p.39 / Chapter 3.3.3 --- Crystal extraction and X-ray diffraction --- p.40 / Chapter 3.4 --- Conclusion --- p.41 / Chapter 4 --- Conclusion --- p.43 / Chapter 4.1 --- Summary --- p.43 / Chapter 4.2 --- Discussions and future directions --- p.44 / Appendix Information --- p.47 / References --- p.51