Biological Small Angle X-ray
Scattering/Diffraction
Bridging atomic-resolution structures to molecular/subcellular structures
SSRL Beam Line 4-2 is dedicated to biological small angle x-ray scattering and diffraction studies, and is a part of the structural molecular biology (SMB) user facilities, supported by the National Institutes of Health, the National Center for Research Resources and by the Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research. This experimental station has been operational for over two decades and the current SAXS/D instrument was commissioned in 2004, immediately following the SPEAR3 storage ring upgrade. The instrument features state-of-the-art experimental facilities for solution scattering, lipid membrane diffraction, fiber diffraction and single crystal diffraction at moderately high to very small scattering angles in the characteristic lengths of the order of microns to a few Ångstroms. These techniques allow structural studies of biological macromolecules and assemblies in physiological or near physiological conditions, complementing many higher resolution structural techniques which require experimental conditions that are not necessarily physiological. In addition to providing user-friendly experimental facilities for equilibrium studies, BL4-2 maintains premier experimental facilities for time-resolved studies in the millisecond time scale and above.
Updates on BL4-2 Upgrade (first beam in new hutch on June 10, 2008)
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