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- Galli, Lorenzo, et al.
(författare)
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Towards phasing using high X-ray intensity
- 2015
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Ingår i: IUCrJ. - 2052-2525. ; 2, s. 627-634
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) show great promise for macromolecular structure determination from sub-micrometre-sized crystals, using the emerging method of serial femtosecond crystallography. The extreme brightness of the XFEL radiation can multiply ionize most, if not all, atoms in a protein, causing their scattering factors to change during the pulse, with a preferential ‘bleaching’ of heavy atoms. This paper investigates the effects of electronic damage on experimental data collected from a Gd derivative of lysozyme microcrystals at different X-ray intensities, and the degree of ionization of Gd atoms is quantified from phased difference Fourier maps. A pattern sorting scheme is proposed to maximize the ionization contrast and the way in which the local electronic damage can be used for a new experimental phasing method is discussed.
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2. |
- Nass, Karol, et al.
(författare)
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Indications of radiation damage in ferredoxin microcrystals using high-intensity X-FEL beams
- 2015
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Ingår i: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation. - 0909-0495 .- 1600-5775. ; 22:2, s. 225-238
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Proteins that contain metal cofactors are expected to be highly radiation sensitive since the degree of X-ray absorption correlates with the presence of high-atomic-number elements and X-ray energy. To explore the effects of local damage in serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX), Clostridium ferredoxin was used as a model system. The protein contains two [4Fe–4S] clusters that serve as sensitive probes for radiation-induced electronic and structural changes. High-dose room-temperature SFX datasets were collected at the Linac Coherent Light Source of ferredoxin microcrystals. Difference electron density maps calculated from high-dose SFX and synchrotron data show peaks at the iron positions of the clusters, indicative of decrease of atomic scattering factors due to ionization. The electron density of the two [4Fe–4S] clusters differs in the FEL data, but not in the synchrotron data. Since the clusters differ in their detailed architecture, this observation is suggestive of an influence of the molecular bonding and geometry on the atomic displacement dynamics following initial photoionization. The experiments are complemented by plasma code calculations.
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