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Related Concept Videos

X-ray Crystallography02:18

X-ray Crystallography

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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...
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Determination of Crystal Structures01:29

Determination of Crystal Structures

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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...
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X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples01:10

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples

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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...
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Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects01:25

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Point, Line and Plane Defects

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A perfect crystal, in theory, has a uniform structure with the same unit cell and lattice points throughout. However, any deviation from this periodic arrangement is known as an imperfection or defect. These defects can be categorized into three types: point, line, and plane defects.Point defects occur when there is a deviation from the ideal due to missing atoms, displaced atoms, or additional atoms. These imperfections might occur due to imperfect packing during crystallization or because of...
150
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Stoichiometric Point Defects01:26

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Stoichiometric Point Defects

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Schottky defects arise when some lattice points in a crystal, such as those in NaCl, remain unoccupied, creating lattice vacancies without disturbing the overall electrical neutrality of the crystal. This defect is common in ionic crystals where the positive and negative ions are similar in size, as seen in sodium chloride and cesium chloride. The presence of Schottky defects enables the crystal to conduct electricity to a small extent through an ionic mechanism. Electric fields cause nearby...
143
Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects01:29

Imperfections in Crystal Structure: Non-Stoichiometric Defects

115
Non-stoichiometric defects refer to a type of defect in the crystal structure of a compound where the ratio of its constituent elements deviates from the ideal stoichiometric ratio. There are two main types of non-stoichiometric defects: metal excess defects and metal deficiency defects.Metal excess defects occur when there is a slight surplus of metal ions than what is required by the stoichiometric ratio of the compound. For example, heating a sodium chloride crystal in sodium vapor results...
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Microfluidic Chips for In Situ Crystal X-ray Diffraction and In Situ Dynamic Light Scattering for Serial Crystallography
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Anomalous diffraction in crystallographic phase evaluation.

Wayne A Hendrickson1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, and Department of Physiology and Cellular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10032, USA.

Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics
|April 15, 2014
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Anomalous scattering methods like multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) and single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD) solve the phase problem in X-ray crystallography. These techniques are crucial for determining the atomic-level structures of biological macromolecules.

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Area of Science:

  • Structural biology
  • Biophysics
  • Crystallography

Background:

  • X-ray diffraction provides amplitudes but lacks phase information essential for atomic structure determination.
  • The phase problem is a critical bottleneck in resolving macromolecular structures.
  • Anomalous scattering offers a solution by exploiting elemental scattering resonances.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the physical principles of anomalous diffraction methods.
  • To trace the evolution and current state of multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD) and single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD).
  • To discuss the practical aspects and applications of these phase determination techniques.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing anomalous scattering from diverse elements.
  • Implementing multiwavelength anomalous diffraction (MAD).
  • Employing single-wavelength anomalous diffraction (SAD).

Main Results:

  • MAD and SAD methods are now predominant for de novo atomic-level structure determination.
  • Anomalous scattering provides the necessary phase information for electron density map computation.
  • These methods enable the resolution of complex biological structures.

Conclusions:

  • Anomalous scattering is a powerful and essential tool in modern structural biology.
  • MAD and SAD have revolutionized the determination of biological macromolecular structures.
  • The review covers the physics, methods, implementation, and applications of anomalous diffraction.