[sdpd] Re: SDPD stagnation

[Lachlan Cranswick <l.m.d.cranswick...@dl.ac.uk>]

With respect to the following data, has any attempt been
made to compare the following with year by year - 
numbers of a) protein and b) small molecule structure
solutions?

It may not just be due to available powder diffraction software/
methods (though looking at the numbers below - none of the yearly
figures are all that large?) - but also the availability of 
single crystal CCDs and microCrystal synchrotron systems such 
as the Siemens/Bruker CCD SMART system on Beamline 9.8 at Daresbury.  
What % of "powder problems" can now be handled as single crystal
problems using CCDs?

Lachlan.

Armel wrote:
>Recent update of the SDPD-Database shows that 1999
>will be an average productive year. Looking at the
>number of SDPDs listed shows that we are at a plateau
>of 50-60 structure determination since 5 years :
>
>             1999  56
>             1998  61
>             1997  55
>             1996  49
>             1995  59
>             1994  46
>             1993  28
>             1992  34
>             1991  16
>             1990   9
>             1989  10
>             1988  14
>             1987   4
>             1986   4
>             1985   3
>
>       http://www.cristal.org/iniref.html
>
>Considering the number of new methods, review papers, etc
>which continue to appear, this is a bit surprising. The contrast
>is evident if one looks at the production increase in the 90-95
>or 85-90 periods.
>
>Opinions ? Are we at a stage where pharmaceutical companies
>are doing SDPDs but are not publishing them, or something
>like that ? How to justify the large quantities of money invested
>by those pharmaceutical companies in SDPD software if nothing
>is produced ? Or is it too soon to see the changes induced in
>SDPD production by the new methods of molecule location ?
>Can we expect to attain 100 published SDPDs per year in 2005 ?
>
>Best,
>
>
>Armel Le Bail - Universite du Maine, Laboratoire des Fluorures,
>CNRS ESA 6010, Av. O. Messiaen, 72085 Le Mans Cedex 9, France
>http://www.cristal.org/


Lachlan M. D. Cranswick

Collaborative Computational Project No 14 (CCP14)
    for Single Crystal and Powder Diffraction

15th December 1999 to 4th March 2000
Queen's University, Dept Geological Sciences,
Miller Hall, Union St, Kingston, Ontario
Canada, K7L 3N6

Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington, WA4 4AD U.K
Tel: +44-1925-603703  Fax: +44-1925-603124
E-mail: l.cranswick...@dl.ac.uk  Ext: 3703  Room C14
                           http://www.ccp14.ac.uk