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

$X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples$ 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...

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

High-throughput in situ single particle X-ray imaging of dehydrating viral capsids.

Light, science & applications·2026

Same author

Single-Particle X-ray Scattering Reveals a High Local Supersaturation of Precursors as the Origin of CoO Assembly Formation.

The journal of physical chemistry letters·2026

Same author

Statistical crystallography reveals an allosteric network in SARS-CoV-2 M<sup>pro</sup>.

Communications biology·2026

Same author

3D atomic structure determination with ultrashort-pulse MeV electron diffraction.

IUCrJ·2026

Same author

PEO-sheathed liquid jets increase sample delivery stability for serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography.

Scientific reports·2026

Same author

The long and short of it: Distinct natural crystal packing strategies of Cry toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis.

Structure (London, England : 1993)·2026

Same journal

Launching a new era for Short Communications in Journal of Synchrotron Radiation.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026

Same journal

Sagittal collimating diaboloid: a new grazing-incidence mirror surface for higher-throughput resonant inelastic X-ray scattering spectrometers.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026

Same journal

Synchrotron X-ray tomography and spectroscopy in numismatics: disclosing counterfeit practices in medieval silver coins.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026

Same journal

The Big Data Science Center at the Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility: the architecture of the superfacility.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026

Same journal

A robotic and high-throughput X-ray micro-computed tomography workflow.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026

Same journal

Evolution of hierarchical phase-contrast tomography on the European Synchrotron beamlines BM05 and BM18: a whole adult human brain imaging case study.

Journal of synchrotron radiation·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 19, 2026

$Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene$

Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene

Published on: August 22, 2017

Post-sample aperture for low background diffraction experiments at X-ray free-electron lasers.

Max O Wiedorn¹, Salah Awel¹, Andrew J Morgan¹

¹Center for Free-Electron Laser Scienece, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.

Journal of Synchrotron Radiation

|November 2, 2017

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Researchers developed a post-sample aperture to significantly reduce background scattering in X-ray imaging. This technique improves signal-to-noise ratio for weakly scattering samples in single-particle imaging experiments.

Keywords:

X-ray diffraction aperture background scattering coherent diffractive imaging signal-to-noise ratio single-particle imaging

More Related Videos

$Synchrotron X-ray Microdiffraction and Fluorescence Imaging of Mineral and Rock Samples$

Synchrotron X-ray Microdiffraction and Fluorescence Imaging of Mineral and Rock Samples

Published on: June 19, 2018

$Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures$

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures

Published on: October 7, 2013

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Feb 19, 2026

$Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene$

Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene

Published on: August 22, 2017

$Synchrotron X-ray Microdiffraction and Fluorescence Imaging of Mineral and Rock Samples$

Synchrotron X-ray Microdiffraction and Fluorescence Imaging of Mineral and Rock Samples

Published on: June 19, 2018

$Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures$

Synthesis and Microdiffraction at Extreme Pressures and Temperatures

Published on: October 7, 2013

Area of Science:

X-ray science
Diffraction imaging
Photon science

Background:

Achieving optimal signal-to-noise ratio is crucial for diffraction experiments, especially with weakly scattering samples.
Single-particle imaging experiments face challenges due to weak diffraction signals and substantial background scattering.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop a simple method for reducing background scattering in diffraction experiments.
To demonstrate the application of this method in single-particle X-ray imaging.

Main Methods:

Implementation of a post-sample aperture downstream of the sample.
Application in a single-particle X-ray imaging experiment at the FLASH facility.

Main Results:

The post-sample aperture significantly reduced background scattering levels.
Background scattering was reduced by two orders of magnitude.

Conclusions:

A post-sample aperture is an effective technique for suppressing background scattering.
This method enhances signal-to-noise ratio, improving diffraction experiments with weakly scattering samples.