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

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 3, 2025

Biochemical and Structural Characterization of the Carbohydrate Transport Substrate-binding-protein SP0092

Biochemical and Structural Characterization of the Carbohydrate Transport Substrate-binding-protein SP0092

Published on: October 2, 2017

Raw diffraction data and reproducibility.

Loes M J Kroon-Batenburg¹, Matthew P Lightfoot², Natalie T Johnson²

¹Crystal and Structural Chemistry, Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, Universiteitsweg 99, 3584 CG Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Structural Dynamics (Melville, N.Y.)

|February 16, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Preserving raw diffraction data offers benefits for understanding reproducibility in structural chemistry. While macromolecular crystallography now requires raw data availability, chemical crystallography has not yet adopted this policy.

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Last Updated: Jul 3, 2025

Biochemical and Structural Characterization of the Carbohydrate Transport Substrate-binding-protein SP0092

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Published on: October 2, 2017

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

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:

Crystallography
Data Science
Structural Chemistry

Background:

Digital storage expansion enables hosting raw diffraction datasets.
The structural chemistry community is considering the benefits and costs of preserving experimental diffraction data.

Purpose of the Study:

To consult the global structural chemistry community regarding raw diffraction data preservation.
To analyze statistics on raw diffraction dataset depositions by probe and facility type.

Main Methods:

Consultations with the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) Committee on Data and the IUCrData Raw Data Letters initiative.
Monitoring of Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre (CCDC) depositions citing raw diffraction dataset DOIs.
Review of updated IUCr Journals publication policies.

Main Results:

IUCr Journals now require raw data availability for macromolecular crystallography publications.
Chemical crystallography has not yet been recommended for mandatory raw data archiving by the IUCr Commission on Structural Chemistry.
CCDC data reveals statistics on raw data deposition by x-ray, neutron, and electron probes, and by home lab versus central facility.

Conclusions:

Enhanced understanding of current analysis procedure reproducibility is achievable.
Divergent policies exist for raw data archiving in macromolecular versus chemical crystallography.