Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Determination of Crystal Structures

Determination of Crystal Structures

In the late 1800s, the revelation that light extended beyond visible wavelengths led to the discovery of X-rays by Wilhelm Roentgen. Recognized as high-energy electromagnetic radiation with short wavelengths, X-rays prompted exploration into their interaction with crystals. Max von Laue proposed in 1912 that the periodic arrangement of atoms, ions, or molecules in crystals would cause them to diffract X-rays, a hypothesis confirmed through experiments with copper sulfate and zinc sulfide...

X-ray Crystallography

X-ray Crystallography

The size of the unit cell and the arrangement of atoms in a crystal may be determined from measurements of the diffraction of X-rays by the crystal, termed X-ray crystallography.
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Diversity-driven biochemical survey reveals widespread dimerization throughout the rubisco superfamily.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

RNAprecis: Prediction of full-detail RNA conformation from the experimentally best-observed sparse parameters.

PLoS computational biology·2026

Same author

The NMR Exchange Format (NEF): Specification and Applications.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

<i>pyDiSCaMB</i>: enabling the use of multipolar scattering factors in <i>Phenix</i>.

Journal of applied crystallography·2026

Same author

Variable Resolution Maps (VRM) in CCTBX and Phenix: Accounting For Local Resolution In cryoEM.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same author

Validated ligand geometries for macromolecular refinement restraints and molecular-mechanics force fields.

Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology·2026

Same journal

Tomogram exploration through template matching and deep learning.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

Same journal

A comparative review of cryo-electron ptychography: Biological applications and future perspectives.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

Same journal

Metabolic disruptions through a three-dimensional genomic lens.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

Same journal

Collective variable design for biomolecular conformational dynamics.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

Same journal

Polymer scaling in protein crowding: From dilute coils to semidilute meshes.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

Same journal

Tuning the physicochemical properties of rationally designed protein-based biomolecular condensates.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae

Published on: January 10, 2018

Recent developments in phasing and structure refinement for macromolecular crystallography.

Paul D Adams¹, Pavel V Afonine, Ralf W Grosse-Kunstleve

¹Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, BLDG 64R0121, 1 Cyclotron Road, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. PDAdams@lbl.gov

Current Opinion in Structural Biology

|August 25, 2009

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Accurate phasing and model refinement are crucial for solving crystallographic structures. Advances in algorithms now enable better electron density maps and more precise molecular models from diffraction data.

More Related Videos

$Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction$

Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction

Published on: July 21, 2017

X-Ray Crystallography to Study the Oligomeric State Transition of the Thermotoga maritima M42 Aminopeptidase TmPep1050

X-Ray Crystallography to Study the Oligomeric State Transition of the Thermotoga maritima M42 Aminopeptidase TmPep1050

Published on: May 13, 2020

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae

Combining X-Ray Crystallography with Small Angle X-Ray Scattering to Model Unstructured Regions of Nsa1 from S. Cerevisiae

Published on: January 10, 2018

$Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction$

Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction

Published on: July 21, 2017

X-Ray Crystallography to Study the Oligomeric State Transition of the Thermotoga maritima M42 Aminopeptidase TmPep1050

X-Ray Crystallography to Study the Oligomeric State Transition of the Thermotoga maritima M42 Aminopeptidase TmPep1050

Published on: May 13, 2020

Area of Science:

Crystallography
Structural Biology
Biochemistry

Background:

Crystallographic structure solution relies on accurate phase determination.
Building and refining molecular models requires fitting to experimental diffraction data and chemical knowledge.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight recent advancements in phasing and model refinement algorithms.
To emphasize the impact of these advances on crystallographic structure solution.

Main Methods:

Review of recent developments in phasing algorithms.
Analysis of new model refinement and validation techniques.

Main Results:

Improved electron density maps are achievable.
More accurate molecular models can be generated.

Conclusions:

Recent algorithmic advances enhance the accuracy of crystallographic models.
These improvements facilitate a deeper understanding of molecular structures.