Serial small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering with laboratory sources.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Crystallography
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Serial crystallography and dynamic process analysis have advanced with X-ray instrumentation.
• Current methods are largely restricted to large X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) and synchrotron facilities, facing access limitations.
• Laboratory X-ray systems offer a potential alternative to overcome these restrictions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the feasibility of using state-of-the-art laboratory X-ray systems for advanced structural analyses.
• To evaluate micro- and millifluidic sample environments coupled with laboratory X-ray instruments.
• To determine if laboratory X-ray systems can access relevant sample and time scales for materials science processes.

Main Methods:

• Coupling micro- and millifluidic sample environments to commercial small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS) instruments and X-ray diffractometers.
• Testing various laboratory X-ray instrument configurations, focusing on optical setup and flux.
• Performing serial WAXS/XRD analysis on pharmaceutical, nanoparticle, and crystalline material samples.

Main Results:

• Commercial laboratory SAXS/WAXS instruments and diffractometers can analyze samples and timescales (≳5 ms) relevant to materials science.
• The optical configuration of X-ray instruments is crucial for successful serial WAXS/XRD analysis.
• Higher flux from microfocus setups was essential for enabling serial WAXS/XRD analysis in this study.

Conclusions:

• State-of-the-art laboratory X-ray systems, when integrated with microfluidic technologies, are capable of advanced structural analyses.
• These systems provide a viable alternative to large-scale facilities for studying dynamic processes in materials science.
• The findings are expected to drive similar developments in structural biology research.