The XFP (17-BM) beamline for X-ray footprinting at NSLS-II

Hydroxyl-radical mediated synchrotron X-ray footprinting (XF) is a powerful solution-state technique in structural biology for the study of macromolecular structure and dynamics of proteins and nucleic acids, with several synchrotron resources available to serve the XF community worldwide. The XFP (Biological X-ray Footprinting) beamline at the NSLS-II was constructed on a three-pole wiggler source at 17-BM to serve as the premier beamline for performing this technique, providing an unparalleled combination of high flux density broadband beam, flexibility in beam morphology, and sample handling capabilities specifically designed for XF experiments. The details of beamline design, beam measurements, and science commissioning results for a standard protein using the two distinct XFP endstations are presented here. XFP took first light in 2016 and is now available for general user operations through peer-reviewed proposals. Currently, beam sizes from 450   µ m × 120   µ m to 2.7   mm × 2.7   mm (FWHM) are available, with a flux of 1.6 × 1016   photons   s − 1 (measured at 325   mA ring current) in a broadband ( ∼ 5 – 16   keV) beam. This flux is expected to rise to 2.5 × 1016   photons   s − 1 at the full NSLS-II design current of 500   mA, providing an incident power density of>500   W   mm − 2 at full focus.

Source: Journal of Synchrotron Radiation - June 3, 2019 Category: Physics Authors: Asuru, A. Farquhar, E.R. Sullivan, M. Abel, D. Toomey, J. Chance, M.R. Bohon, J. Tags: footprinting structural dynamics beamline solution state beamlines Source Type: research