scholarly journals Polyimide mesh-based sample holder with irregular crystal mounting holes for fixed-target serial crystallography

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Hyun Nam ◽  
Jihan Kim ◽  
Yunje Cho
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Picosecond Laser ◽  
Temperature Structure ◽  
Sample Holder ◽  
Fixed Target ◽  
Random Orientation ◽  
Physical Damage ◽  
Crystal Sample ◽  
Serial Crystallography

AbstractThe serial crystallography (SX) technique enables the determination of the room-temperature structure of a macromolecule while causing minimal radiation damage, as well as the visualization of the molecular dynamics by time-resolved studies. The fixed-target (FT) scanning approach is one method for SX sample delivery that minimizes sample consumption and minimizes physical damage to crystals during data collection. Settling of the crystals on the sample holder in random orientation is important for complete three dimensional data collection. To increase the random orientation of crystals on the sample holder, we developed a polyimide mesh-based sample holder with irregular crystal mounting holes for FT-SX. The polyimide mesh was fabricated using a picosecond laser. Each hole in the polyimide mesh has irregularly shaped holes because of laser thermal damage, which may cause more crystals to settle at random orientations compared to regular shaped sample holders. A crystal sample was spread onto a polyimide-mesh, and a polyimide film was added to both sides to prevent dehydration. Using this sample holder, FT-SX was performed at synchrotron and determined the room-temperature lysozyme structure at 1.65 Å. The polyimide mesh with irregularly shaped holes will allow for expanded applications in sample delivery for FT-SX experiments.

scholarly journals Fixed-Target Serial Synchrotron Crystallography Using Nylon Mesh and Enclosed Film-Based Sample Holder

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 803 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suk-Youl Park ◽  
Hyeongju Choi ◽  
Cheolsoo Eo ◽  
Yunje Cho ◽  
Ki Hyun Nam
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structures ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Sample Holder ◽  
Macromolecular Crystallography ◽  
Fixed Target ◽  
Special Equipment ◽  
Crystal Sample ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Raster Scanning ◽  
Nylon Mesh

Serial crystallography (SX) technique using synchrotron X-ray allows the visualization of room-temperature crystal structures with low-dose data collection as well as time-resolved molecular dynamics. In an SX experiment, delivery of numerous crystals for X-ray interaction, in a serial manner, is very important. Fixed-target scanning approach has the advantage of dramatically minimizing sample consumption as well as any physical damage to crystal sample, compared to other sample delivery methods. Here, we introduce the simple approach of fixed-target serial synchrotron crystallography (FT-SSX) using nylon mesh and enclosed film (NAM)-based sample holder. The NAM-based sample holder consisted of X-ray-transparent nylon-mesh and polyimide film, attached to a magnetic base. This sample holder was mounted to a goniometer head on macromolecular crystallography beamline, and translated along vertical and horizontal directions for raster scanning by the goniometer. Diffraction data were collected in two raster scanning approaches: (i) 100 ms X-ray exposure and 0.011° oscillation at each scan point and (ii) 500 ms X-ray exposure and 0.222° oscillation at each scan point. Using this approach, we determined the room-temperature crystal structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase at 1.5–2.0 Å resolution. The sample holder produced negligible X-ray background scattering for data processing. Therefore, the new approach provided an opportunity to perform FT-SSX with high accessibility using macromolecular crystallography beamlines at synchrotron without any special equipment.

scholarly journals Room-temperature macromolecular crystallography using a micro-patterned silicon chip with minimal background scattering

2016 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 968-975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Roedig ◽  
Ramona Duman ◽  
Juan Sanchez-Weatherby ◽  
Ismo Vartiainen ◽  
Anja Burkhardt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Background Level ◽  
Sample Holder ◽  
Macromolecular Crystallography ◽  
Recent Success ◽  
Millisecond Range ◽  
Humidified Air

Recent success at X-ray free-electron lasers has led to serial crystallography experiments staging a comeback at synchrotron sources as well. With crystal lifetimes typically in the millisecond range and the latest-generation detector technologies with high framing rates up to 1 kHz, fast sample exchange has become the bottleneck for such experiments. A micro-patterned chip has been developed from single-crystalline silicon, which acts as a sample holder for up to several thousand microcrystals at a very low background level. The crystals can be easily loaded onto the chip and excess mother liquor can be efficiently removed. Dehydration of the crystals is prevented by keeping them in a stream of humidified air during data collection. Further sealing of the sample holder, for example with Kapton, is not required. Room-temperature data collection from insulin crystals loaded onto the chip proves the applicability of the chip for macromolecular crystallography. Subsequent structure refinements reveal no radiation-damage-induced structural changes for insulin crystals up to a dose of 565.6 kGy, even though the total diffraction power of the crystals has on average decreased to 19.1% of its initial value for the same dose. A decay of the diffracting power by half is observed for a dose ofD1/2= 147.5 ± 19.1 kGy, which is about 1/300 of the dose before crystals show a similar decay at cryogenic temperatures.

Plug-and-play polymer microfluidic chips for hydrated, room temperature, fixed-target serial crystallography

Lab on a Chip ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepshika Gilbile ◽  
Megan L. Shelby ◽  
Artem Y. Lyubimov ◽  
Jennifer L. Wierman ◽  
Diana C. F. Monteiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Microfluidic Chips ◽  
Fixed Target ◽  
Plug And Play ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
Serial Crystallography

This work presents our development of versatile, inexpensive, and robust polymer microfluidic chips for routine and reliable room temperature serial X-ray crystallography measurements.

Stable sample delivery in viscous media via a capillary for serial crystallography

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ki Hyun Nam
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Capillary Tube ◽  
Glucose Isomerase ◽  
Low Flow ◽  
Innovative Technology ◽  
Delivery Method ◽  
Crystal Sample ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Serial Crystallography ◽  
Delivery Medium

Serial crystallography (SX) is an innovative technology in structural biology that enables the visualization of the molecular dynamics of macromolecules at room temperature. SX experiments always require a considerable amount of effort to deliver a crystal sample to the X-ray interaction point continuously and reliably. Here, a sample-delivery method using a capillary and a delivery medium is introduced. The crystals embedded in the delivery medium can pass through the capillary tube, which is aligned with the X-ray beam, at very low flow rates without requiring elaborate delivery techniques, drastically reducing sample consumption. In serial millisecond crystallography using a viscous medium via a capillary, crystals of lysozyme embedded in agarose, which produce an unstable injection stream at atmospheric pressure, and crystals of glucose isomerase embedded in gelatin, which is known to be problematic for open-extruder operation, were stably delivered at a flow rate of 100 nl min−1. The room-temperature crystal structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase were successfully determined at 1.85 and 1.70 Å resolutions, respectively. This simple but highly efficient sample-delivery method can allow researchers to deliver crystals precisely to an X-ray beam in SX experiments.

scholarly journals Lard Injection Matrix for Serial Crystallography

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (17) ◽  
pp. 5977
Author(s):  
Ki Hyun Nam
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Glucose Isomerase ◽  
Viscous Medium ◽  
Cubic Phase ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Crystal Sample ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Serial Crystallography ◽  
Delivery Medium

Serial crystallography (SX) using X-ray free electron laser or synchrotron X-ray allows for the determination of structures, at room temperature, with reduced radiation damage. Moreover, it allows for the study of structural dynamics of macromolecules using a time-resolved pump-probe, as well as mix-and-inject experiments. Delivering a crystal sample using a viscous medium decreases sample consumption by lowering the flow rate while being extruded from the injector or syringe as compared to a liquid jet injector. Since the environment of crystal samples varies, continuous development of the delivery medium is important for extended SX applications. Herein, I report the preparation and characterization of a lard-based sample delivery medium for SX. This material was obtained using heat treatment, and then the soluble impurities were removed through phase separation. The lard injection medium was highly stable and could be injected via a syringe needle extruded at room temperature with a flow rate < 200 nL/min. Serial millisecond crystallography experiments were performed using lard, and the room temperature structures of lysozyme and glucose isomerase embedded in lard at 1.75 and 1.80 Å, respectively, were determined. The lard medium showed X-ray background scattering similar or relatively lower than shortenings and lipidic cubic phase; therefore, it can be used as sample delivery medium in SX experiments.

Sample delivery using viscous media, a syringe and a syringe pump for serial crystallography

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 1815-1819 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suk-Youl Park ◽  
Ki Hyun Nam
Keyword(s):  
Crystal Structures ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Viscous Medium ◽  
Cubic Phase ◽  
Syringe Pump ◽  
Beam Position ◽  
Crystal Sample ◽  
Injector Nozzle ◽  
Viscous Media ◽  
Serial Crystallography

Sample delivery using injectors is widely used in serial crystallography (SX) and has significantly contributed to the determination of crystal structures at room temperature. However, sophisticated injector nozzle fabrication methods and sample delivery operations have made it difficult for ordinary users to access the SX research. Herein, a simple and easily accessible sample delivery method for SX experiments is introduced, that uses a viscous medium, commercially available syringe and syringe pump. The syringe containing the lysozyme crystals embedded in lipidic cubic phase (LCP) or polyacrylamide (PAM) delivery media was connected to a needle having an inner diameter of 168 µm, after which it was installed on a syringe pump. By driving the syringe pump, the syringe plunger was pushed and the crystal sample was delivered to the X-ray beam position in a stable manner. Using this system, the room-temperature crystal structures of lysozyme embedded in LCP and PAM at 1.56 Å and 1.75 Å, respectively, were determined. This straightforward syringe pump-based sample delivery system can be utilized in SX.

scholarly journals Viscous medium-based crystal support in sample holder for fixed-target serial femtosecond crystallography

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keondo Lee ◽  
Donghyeon Lee ◽  
Sangwon Baek ◽  
Jaehyun Park ◽  
Sang Jae Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Polyimide Film ◽  
Glucose Isomerase ◽  
Viscous Medium ◽  
Sample Holder ◽  
Polyimide Films ◽  
Fixed Target ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Viscous Media ◽  
Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

AbstractSerial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) enables the determination of a room-temperature crystal structure of macromolecules without causing radiation damage, as well as provides time-resolved molecular dynamics data in pump-probe experiments. Fixed-target SFX (FT-SFX) can minimize sample consumption and physical effects to crystals during sample delivery. Various types of sample holders have been developed and applied in FT-SFX; however, no sample holder has been developed that can universally mount crystals of various sizes and shapes. Here, we introduce a viscous media-based crystal support in a sample holder for FT-SFX. Crystal samples were embedded in viscous media such as gelatin and agarose, which were enclosed in a polyimide film. In the vertically placed sample holder, the viscous medium stably supported crystals between the two polyimide films without crystal sinking due to gravity. Using this method, we performed FT-SFX experiments with glucose isomerase and lysozyme embedded in gelatin and agarose, respectively. The room-temperature crystal structures of glucose isomerase and lysozyme were successfully determined at 1.75 and 1.80 Å resolutions, respectively. Viscous media used in this experiment showed negligible background scattering in data processing. This method is useful for delivering crystal samples of various sizes and shapes in FT-SFX experiments.

scholarly journals Plug-and-play polymer microfluidic chips for hydrated room-temperature fixed-target serial crystallography

2021 ◽  
Vol 77 (a1) ◽  
pp. a203-a203
Author(s):  
Deepshika Gilbile ◽  
Megan Shelby ◽  
Artem Lyubimov ◽  
Jennifer Wierman ◽  
Diana Monteiro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Room Temperature ◽  
Microfluidic Chips ◽  
Fixed Target ◽  
Plug And Play ◽  
Serial Crystallography

scholarly journals 3D-MiXD: 3D-printed X-ray-compatible microfluidic devices for rapid, low-consumption serial synchrotron crystallography data collection in flow

IUCrJ ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana C. F. Monteiro ◽  
David von Stetten ◽  
Claudia Stohrer ◽  
Marta Sans ◽  
Arwen R. Pearson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
3D Printed ◽  
Serial Crystallography ◽  
Low X ◽  
Very High

Serial crystallography has enabled the study of complex biological questions through the determination of biomolecular structures at room temperature using low X-ray doses. Furthermore, it has enabled the study of protein dynamics by the capture of atomically resolved and time-resolved molecular movies. However, the study of many biologically relevant targets is still severely hindered by high sample consumption and lengthy data-collection times. By combining serial synchrotron crystallography (SSX) with 3D printing, a new experimental platform has been created that tackles these challenges. An affordable 3D-printed, X-ray-compatible microfluidic device (3D-MiXD) is reported that allows data to be collected from protein microcrystals in a 3D flow with very high hit and indexing rates, while keeping the sample consumption low. The miniaturized 3D-MiXD can be rapidly installed into virtually any synchrotron beamline with only minimal adjustments. This efficient collection scheme in combination with its mixing geometry paves the way for recording molecular movies at synchrotrons by mixing-triggered millisecond time-resolved SSX.

scholarly journals Room-temperature macromolecular serial crystallography using synchrotron radiation

IUCrJ ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 204-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesco Stellato ◽  
Dominik Oberthür ◽  
Mengning Liang ◽  
Richard Bean ◽  
Cornelius Gati ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Synchrotron Radiation ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Single Crystal ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Single Crystal Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Serial Crystallography ◽  
Diffraction Patterns

A new approach for collecting data from many hundreds of thousands of microcrystals using X-ray pulses from a free-electron laser has recently been developed. Referred to as serial crystallography, diffraction patterns are recorded at a constant rate as a suspension of protein crystals flows across the path of an X-ray beam. Events that by chance contain single-crystal diffraction patterns are retained, then indexed and merged to form a three-dimensional set of reflection intensities for structure determination. This approach relies upon several innovations: an intense X-ray beam; a fast detector system; a means to rapidly flow a suspension of crystals across the X-ray beam; and the computational infrastructure to process the large volume of data. Originally conceived for radiation-damage-free measurements with ultrafast X-ray pulses, the same methods can be employed with synchrotron radiation. As in powder diffraction, the averaging of thousands of observations per Bragg peak may improve the ratio of signal to noise of low-dose exposures. Here, it is shown that this paradigm can be implemented for room-temperature data collection using synchrotron radiation and exposure times of less than 3 ms. Using lysozyme microcrystals as a model system, over 40 000 single-crystal diffraction patterns were obtained and merged to produce a structural model that could be refined to 2.1 Å resolution. The resulting electron density is in excellent agreement with that obtained using standard X-ray data collection techniques. With further improvements the method is well suited for even shorter exposures at future and upgraded synchrotron radiation facilities that may deliver beams with 1000 times higher brightness than they currently produce.

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