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Title: Low-Z polymer sample supports for fixed-target serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Crystallography (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [3];  [6];  [4];  [7];  [8];  [4];  [5];  [9];  [8];  [3];  [10];  [3];  [3]
  1. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); National Institute of Environmental Health Science, Research Triangle Park, NC (United States)
  2. Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA (United States); Univ. of Hamburg and DESY, Hamburg (Germany)
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
  4. Paul Scherrer Inst. (PSI), Villigen (Switzerland)
  5. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  6. Lawrence Livermore National Lab. (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States); SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States)
  7. SLAC National Accelerator Lab., Menlo Park, CA (United States); BioXFEL Science and Technology Center, Buffalo, NY (United States)
  8. Brandeis Univ., Waltham, MA (United States)
  9. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
  10. Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
+ Show Author Affiliations

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) offer a new avenue to the structural probing of complex materials, including biomolecules. Delivery of precious sample to the XFEL beam is a key consideration, as the sample of interest must be serially replaced after each destructive pulse. The fixed-target approach to sample delivery involves depositing samples on a thin-film support and subsequent serial introduction via a translating stage. Some classes of biological materials, including two-dimensional protein crystals, must be introduced on fixed-target supports, as they require a flat surface to prevent sample wrinkling. A series of wafer and transmission electron microscopy (TEM)-style grid supports constructed of low-Z plastic have been custom-designed and produced. Aluminium TEM grid holders were engineered, capable of delivering up to 20 different conventional or plastic TEM grids using fixed-target stages available at the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). As proof-of-principle, X-ray diffraction has been demonstrated from two-dimensional crystals of bacteriorhodopsin and three-dimensional crystals of anthrax toxin protective antigen mounted on these supports at the LCLS. In conclusion, the benefits and limitations of these low-Z fixed-target supports are discussed; it is the authors' belief that they represent a viable and efficient alternative to previously reported fixed-target supports for conducting diffraction studies with XFELs.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344
OSTI ID:
1228016
Report Number(s):
LLNL-JRNL-656318; JACGAR
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Crystallography (Online), Vol. 48, Issue 4; ISSN 1600-5767
Publisher:
International Union of Crystallography
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
X-ray free-electron lasers
biological crystallography
two-dimensional crystallography
microcrystallography
serial femto­second crystallography