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...

$X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples$ 01:10

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples

X-ray diffraction or XRD is an analytical tool that utilizes X-rays to study ordered structures such as crystalline organic and inorganic samples, polycrystalline materials, proteins, carbohydrates, and drugs.
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal crystal...

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by

Same author

Tomogram exploration through template matching and deep learning.

Current opinion in structural biology·2026

Same author

Pulsed-electron illumination does not reduce beam damage for imaging biological macromolecules.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Ultrastructural diversity and subcellular organization of nigral Lewy pathology in Parkinson's disease.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Structural basis for a filamentous morpheein model of human cystathionine beta-synthase.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

CryoWriter: a robotic solution for improved Cryo-EM grid preparation.

Nature communications·2026

Same author

Temperature-dependent ligand relocation reveals plasticity of TRPM4 inhibition.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026

Same journal

1,2-Aminothiol-specific conjugation for dual-color fluorescent labeling via ultrafast TAMM conjugates.

Methods in enzymology·2026

Same journal

Nitrone dipoles in bioorthogonal chemistry applications.

Methods in enzymology·2026

Same journal

Bioorthogonal labeling of sialic acid isomers for detection of glycoconjugates by mass spectrometry imaging and microscopy.

Methods in enzymology·2026

Same journal

Bioorthogonal photocatalytic proximity labeling for quantitative mapping of cell-cell interactions.

Methods in enzymology·2026

Same journal

inCu-click: Enabling copper-catalyzed click chemistry inside living cells.

Methods in enzymology·2026

Same journal

Site-specific antibody labeling via endo-S2 mediated Fc glycan remodeling.

Methods in enzymology·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

$On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature$

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

3D reconstruction from 2D crystal image and diffraction data.

Andreas D Schenk¹, Daniel Castaño-Díez, Bryant Gipson

¹Department of Cell Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

Methods in Enzymology

|October 5, 2010

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Electron crystallography determines high-resolution structures of membrane proteins using 2D protein crystals. This study details image-processing algorithms and software (2dx, XDP, IPLT) for analyzing electron microscopy 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

$Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography$

Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

Published on: April 24, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

$On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature$

On-Chip Crystallization and Large-Scale Serial Diffraction at Room Temperature

Published on: March 11, 2022

$Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction$

Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction

Published on: July 21, 2017

$Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography$

Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography

Published on: April 24, 2018

Area of Science:

Structural biology
Biophysics
Biochemistry

Background:

High-resolution structure determination of membrane proteins is crucial for understanding their function.
Electron crystallography of 2D protein crystals offers a powerful approach for this purpose.

Purpose of the Study:

To introduce image-processing algorithms for electron crystallography of 2D protein crystals.
To demonstrate the application of Medical Research Council (MRC) programs and specific software packages (2dx, XDP, IPLT).

Main Methods:

Utilizing electron microscopy to record images or diffraction patterns from frozen hydrated 2D protein crystals.
Applying crystallographic Fourier space-based image-processing algorithms.
Employing software packages including 2dx, XDP, and IPLT for data analysis.

Main Results:

Successful implementation of image-processing algorithms for electron crystallography.
Demonstrated utility of MRC programs and associated software for 3D protein structure determination.
High-resolution structural data can be obtained from membrane-embedded proteins.

Conclusions:

Electron crystallography provides a high-resolution method for determining membrane protein structures.
The presented image-processing algorithms and software facilitate the analysis of electron microscopy data.
This approach aids in advancing the understanding of membrane protein function through structural biology.