Nanosecond pump – probe device for time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography developed at SACLA
X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) have opened new opportunities for time-resolved X-ray crystallography. Here a nanosecond optical-pump XFEL-probe device developed for time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography (TR-SFX) studies of photo-induced reactions in proteins at the SPring-8 Angstrom Compact free-electron LAser (SACLA) is reported. The optical-fiber-based system is a good choice for a quick setup in a limited beam time and allows pump illumination from two directions to achieve high excitation efficiency of protein microcrystals. Two types of injectors are used: one for extruding highly viscous samples such as lipidic cubic phase (LCP) and the other for pulsed liquid droplets. Under standard sample flow conditions from the viscous-sample injector, delay times from nanoseconds to tens of milliseconds are accessible, typical time scales required to study large protein conformational changes. A first demonstration of a TR-SFX experiment on bacteriorhodopsin in bicelle using a setup with a droplet-type injector is also presented.
Source: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation - Category: Physics Authors: Kubo, M. Nango, E. Tono, K. Kimura, T. Owada, S. Song, C. Mafun é , F. Miyajima, K. Takeda, Y. Kohno, J. Miyauchi, N. Nakane, T. Tanaka, T. Nomura, T. Davidsson, J. Tanaka, R. Murata, M. Kameshima, T. Hatsui, T. Joti, Y. Neutze, R. Yabashi, M. Iwata, S. Tags: XFEL serial femtosecond crystallography time-resolved X-ray crystallography pump and probe short communications Source Type: research