Anaerobic fixed-target serial crystallography using sandwiched silicon nitride membranes.
Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol 2023;
79:1018-1025. [PMID:
37860963 PMCID:
PMC10619425 DOI:
10.1107/s205979832300880x]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, the emergence of serial crystallography, initially pioneered at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), has sparked a growing interest in collecting macromolecular crystallographic data at room temperature. Various fixed-target serial crystallography techniques have been developed, ranging from commercially available chips to in-house designs implemented at different synchrotron facilities. Nevertheless, there is currently no commercially available chip (known to the authors) specifically designed for the direct handling of oxygen-sensitive samples. This study presents a methodology employing silicon nitride chips arranged in a `sandwich' configuration, enabling reliable room-temperature data collection from oxygen-sensitive samples. The method involves the utilization of a custom-made 3D-printed assembling tool and a MX sample holder. To validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, deoxyhemoglobin and methemoglobin samples were investigated using the BioMAX X-ray macromolecular crystallography beamline, the Balder X-ray absorption spectroscopy beamline and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy.
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