Quickly Getting the Best Data from Your Macromolecular Crystals with a New Generation of Beamline Instruments
- EMBL-Grenoble, 6, rue Jules Horowitz, BP181 38042 Grenoble Cedex 9 (France)
- MRC-France (BM14), c/o ESRF, B.P.220, 38043 Grenoble CEDEX (France)
- ESRF, B.P. 220, 38043 Grenoble CEDEX (France)
While routine Macromolecular x-ray (MX) crystallography has relied on well established techniques for some years all the synchrotrons around the world are improving the throughput of their MX beamlines. Third generation synchrotrons provide small intense beams that make data collection of 5-10 microns sized crystals possible. The EMBL/ESRF MX Group in Grenoble has developed a new generation of instruments to easily collect data on 10 {mu}m size crystals in an automated environment. This work is part of the Grenoble automation program that enables FedEx like crystallography using fully automated data collection and web monitored experiments. Seven ESRF beamlines and the MRC BM14 ESRF/CRG beamline are currently equipped with these latest instruments. We describe here the main features of the MD2x diffractometer family and the SC3 sample changer robot. Although the SC3 was primarily designed to increase the throughput of MX beamlines, it has also been shown to be efficient in improving the quality of the data collected. Strategies in screening a large number of crystals, selecting the best, and collecting a full data set from several re-oriented micro-crystals can now be run with minimum time and effort. The MD2x and SC3 instruments are now commercialised by the company ACCEL GmbH.
- OSTI ID:
- 21043399
- Journal Information:
- AIP Conference Proceedings, Vol. 879, Issue 1; Conference: 9. international conference on synchrotron radiation instrumentation, Daegu (Korea, Republic of), 28 May - 2 Jun 2006; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2436450; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0094-243X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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