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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.
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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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Updated: Feb 19, 2026

$Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction$

Microcrystallography of Protein Crystals and In Cellulo Diffraction

Published on: July 21, 2017

Synergy among phase-refinement techniques in macromolecular crystallography.

Maria Cristina Burla¹, Giovanni Luca Cascarano², Carmelo Giacovazzo²

¹Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università di Perugia, Via Pascoli, I-06123 Perugia, Italy.

Acta Crystallographica. Section D, Structural Biology

|November 3, 2017

Summary

Combining mainstream and out-of-mainstream methods can significantly improve crystallographic phase refinement. This approach enhances electron-density maps, aiding molecular interpretation and increasing the success rate of crystal structure solutions.

Keywords:

ab initio techniques anomalous dispersion molecular replacement phase extension phase refinement proteins

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Structure Solution of the Fluorescent Protein Cerulean Using MeshAndCollect

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Last Updated: Feb 19, 2026

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Published on: March 19, 2019

Area of Science:

Structural Biology
Crystallography
Biophysics

Background:

Phasing methods like ab initio and non-ab initio often yield insufficient phase quality for molecular interpretation.
Electron-density map interpretation is crucial for solving crystal structures, making phase refinement a critical step.
Current phase refinement relies heavily on electron-density modification (EDM) techniques, particularly dual-space methods.

Purpose of the Study:

To demonstrate the potential of combining mainstream and out-of-mainstream phase refinement methods.
To show that integrating diverse phasing strategies can lead to significant advancements in crystallographic structure solution.
To validate the combined approach through experimental testing.

Main Methods:

Electron-density modification (EDM) techniques.
Dual-space methods for direct and reciprocal space constraints.
Integration of mainstream (popular EDM) and out-of-mainstream (less common) phase refinement approaches.
Experimental validation using molecular replacement, SAD-MAD, and ab initio phasing.

Main Results:

The combination of mainstream and out-of-mainstream methods yielded improved electron-density maps.
Enhanced map quality facilitated molecular interpretation and model building.
Experimental tests confirmed dramatic advances in the state of the art for phase refinement.

Conclusions:

Integrating diverse phase refinement strategies offers a powerful approach to overcome limitations of individual methods.
The combined strategy significantly enhances the quality of electron-density maps, improving crystal structure solution success rates.
This integrated approach represents a notable advancement in crystallographic phase refinement techniques.