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Successful sample preparation for serial crystallography experiments
Author(s) -
Beale John H.,
Bolton Rachel,
Marshall Stephen A.,
Beale Emma V.,
Carr Stephen B.,
Ebrahim Ali,
Moreno-Chicano Tadeo,
Hough Michael A.,
Worrall Jonathan A. R.,
Tews Ivo,
Owen Robin L.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of applied crystallography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.429
H-Index - 162
ISSN - 1600-5767
DOI - 10.1107/s1600576719013517
Subject(s) - crystallization , synchrotron , diffusion , crystallography , materials science , computer science , chemistry , optics , physics , thermodynamics
Serial crystallography, at both synchrotron and X‐ray free‐electron laser light sources, is becoming increasingly popular. However, the tools in the majority of crystallization laboratories are focused on producing large single crystals by vapour diffusion that fit the cryo‐cooled paradigm of modern synchrotron crystallography. This paper presents several case studies and some ideas and strategies on how to perform the conversion from a single crystal grown by vapour diffusion to the many thousands of micro‐crystals required for modern serial crystallography grown by batch crystallization. These case studies aim to show (i) how vapour diffusion conditions can be converted into batch by optimizing the length of time crystals take to appear; (ii) how an understanding of the crystallization phase diagram can act as a guide when designing batch crystallization protocols; and (iii) an accessible methodology when attempting to scale batch conditions to larger volumes. These methods are needed to minimize the sample preparation gap between standard rotation crystallography and dedicated serial laboratories, ultimately making serial crystallography more accessible to all crystallographers.