The use of a mini-κ goniometer head in macromolecular crystallography diffraction experiments
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), 6 Rue Jules Horowitz, 38042 Grenoble (France)
- Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), PO Box 9600, 2300 RC Leiden (Netherlands)
Hardware and software solutions for MX data-collection strategies using the EMBL/ESRF miniaturized multi-axis goniometer head are presented. Most macromolecular crystallography (MX) diffraction experiments at synchrotrons use a single-axis goniometer. This markedly contrasts with small-molecule crystallography, in which the majority of the diffraction data are collected using multi-axis goniometers. A novel miniaturized κ-goniometer head, the MK3, has been developed to allow macromolecular crystals to be aligned. It is available on the majority of the structural biology beamlines at the ESRF, as well as elsewhere. In addition, the Strategy for the Alignment of Crystals (STAC) software package has been developed to facilitate the use of the MK3 and other similar devices. Use of the MK3 and STAC is streamlined by their incorporation into online analysis tools such as EDNA. The current use of STAC and MK3 on the MX beamlines at the ESRF is discussed. It is shown that the alignment of macromolecular crystals can result in improved diffraction data quality compared with data obtained from randomly aligned crystals.
- OSTI ID:
- 22347851
- Journal Information:
- Acta Crystallographica. Section D: Biological Crystallography, Vol. 69, Issue Pt 7; Other Information: PMCID: PMC3689527; PMID: 23793150; PUBLISHER-ID: ba5185; OAI: oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:3689527; Copyright (c) Brockhauser et al. 2013; This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original authors and source are cited.; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0907-4449
- Country of Publication:
- Denmark
- Language:
- English
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