scholarly journals Opportunities and challenges for time-resolved studies of protein structural dynamics at X-ray free-electron lasers

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1647) ◽  
pp. 20130318 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Neutze
Keyword(s):  
Structural Dynamics ◽  
Free Electron ◽  
Free Electron Lasers ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Protein Structural Dynamics ◽  
Structural Biochemistry ◽  
Scientific Questions ◽  
Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) are revolutionary X-ray sources. Their time structure, providing X-ray pulses of a few tens of femtoseconds in duration; and their extreme peak brilliance, delivering approximately 10 12 X-ray photons per pulse and facilitating sub-micrometre focusing, distinguish XFEL sources from synchrotron radiation. In this opinion piece, I argue that these properties of XFEL radiation will facilitate new discoveries in life science. I reason that time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography and time-resolved wide angle X-ray scattering are promising areas of scientific investigation that will be advanced by XFEL capabilities, allowing new scientific questions to be addressed that are not accessible using established methods at storage ring facilities. These questions include visualizing ultrafast protein structural dynamics on the femtosecond to picosecond time-scale, as well as time-resolved diffraction studies of non-cyclic reactions. I argue that these emerging opportunities will stimulate a renaissance of interest in time-resolved structural biochemistry.

scholarly journals Pump-Probe Time-Resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography at X-Ray Free Electron Lasers

Crystals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 628
Author(s):  
Suraj Pandey ◽  
Ishwor Poudyal ◽  
Tek Narsingh Malla
Keyword(s):  
Free Electron ◽  
Reaction Dynamics ◽  
Reaction Coordinate ◽  
Biological Macromolecules ◽  
Free Electron Lasers ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
Pump Probe ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

With time-resolved crystallography (TRX), it is possible to follow the reaction dynamics in biological macromolecules by investigating the structure of transient states along the reaction coordinate. X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) have enabled TRX experiments on previously uncharted femtosecond timescales. Here, we review the recent developments, opportunities, and challenges of pump-probe TRX at XFELs.

scholarly journals Protein structural dynamics in solution unveiled via 100-ps time-resolved x-ray scattering

2010 ◽  
Vol 107 (16) ◽  
pp. 7281-7286 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Cho ◽  
N. Dashdorj ◽  
F. Schotte ◽  
T. Graber ◽  
R. Henning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Structural Dynamics ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Protein Structural Dynamics ◽  
Ray Scattering

Time-Resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Schmidt ◽  
Suraj Pandey ◽  
Adrian Mancuso ◽  
Richard Bean
Keyword(s):  
Free Electron ◽  
Free Electron Laser ◽  
Crystallographic Data ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

Abstract This protocol introduces step by step into the collection of time resolved crystallographic data and their analysis at the European Free Electron Laser.

scholarly journals Time-Resolved Macromolecular Crystallography at Pulsed X-ray Sources

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marius Schmidt
Keyword(s):  
Structural Biology ◽  
Free Electron ◽  
Reaction Dynamics ◽  
X Rays ◽  
Free Electron Lasers ◽  
Macromolecular Crystallography ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Methodological Aspects

The focus of structural biology is shifting from the determination of static structures to the investigation of dynamical aspects of macromolecular function. With time-resolved macromolecular crystallography (TRX), intermediates that form and decay during the macromolecular reaction can be investigated, as well as their reaction dynamics. Time-resolved crystallographic methods were initially developed at synchrotrons. However, about a decade ago, extremely brilliant, femtosecond-pulsed X-ray sources, the free electron lasers for hard X-rays, became available to a wider community. TRX is now possible with femtosecond temporal resolution. This review provides an overview of methodological aspects of TRX, and at the same time, aims to outline the frontiers of this method at modern pulsed X-ray sources.

scholarly journals Liquid sample delivery techniques for serial femtosecond crystallography

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1647) ◽  
pp. 20130337 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uwe Weierstall
Keyword(s):  
Flow Rate ◽  
Free Electron ◽  
Repetition Rate ◽  
Free Electron Laser ◽  
Room Temperature ◽  
Liquid Flow Rate ◽  
Free Electron Lasers ◽  
Liquid Sample ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

X-ray free-electron lasers overcome the problem of radiation damage in protein crystallography and allow structure determination from micro- and nanocrystals at room temperature. To ensure that consecutive X-ray pulses do not probe previously exposed crystals, the sample needs to be replaced with the X-ray repetition rate, which ranges from 120 Hz at warm linac-based free-electron lasers to 1 MHz at superconducting linacs. Liquid injectors are therefore an essential part of a serial femtosecond crystallography experiment at an X-ray free-electron laser. Here, we compare different techniques of injecting microcrystals in solution into the pulsed X-ray beam in vacuum. Sample waste due to mismatch of the liquid flow rate to the X-ray repetition rate can be addressed through various techniques.

scholarly journals X-ray Scattering Studies of Protein Structural Dynamics

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (12) ◽  
pp. 7615-7672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve P. Meisburger ◽  
William C. Thomas ◽  
Maxwell B. Watkins ◽  
Nozomi Ando
Keyword(s):  
Structural Dynamics ◽  
X Ray ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Protein Structural Dynamics ◽  
Ray Scattering

scholarly journals Time-resolved crystallography and protein design: signalling photoreceptors and optogenetics

2014 ◽  
Vol 369 (1647) ◽  
pp. 20130568 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Moffat
Keyword(s):  
Protein Design ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Fast Time ◽  
Free Electron Lasers ◽  
Time Resolved ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Biological Targets ◽  
X Ray Crystallography ◽  
X Ray Scattering ◽  
Exciting Possibility

Time-resolved X-ray crystallography and solution scattering have been successfully conducted on proteins on time-scales down to around 100 ps, set by the duration of the hard X-ray pulses emitted by synchrotron sources. The advent of hard X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs), which emit extremely intense, very brief, coherent X-ray pulses, opens the exciting possibility of time-resolved experiments with femtosecond time resolution on macromolecular structure, in both single crystals and solution. The X-ray pulses emitted by an FEL differ greatly in many properties from those emitted by a synchrotron, in ways that at first glance make time-resolved measurements of X-ray scattering with the required accuracy extremely challenging. This opens up several questions which I consider in this brief overview. Are there likely to be chemically and biologically interesting structural changes to be revealed on the femtosecond time-scale? How shall time-resolved experiments best be designed and conducted to exploit the properties of FELs and overcome challenges that they pose? To date, fast time-resolved reactions have been initiated by a brief laser pulse, which obviously requires that the system under study be light-sensitive. Although this is true for proteins of the visual system and for signalling photoreceptors, it is not naturally the case for most interesting biological systems. To generate more biological targets for time-resolved study, can this limitation be overcome by optogenetic, chemical or other means?

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