FOLDING DYNAMICS OF RNA BY CATION CONDENSATION

描述(由申请人提供)：我们建议继续在阿贡国家实验室高级光子源的生物物理协作访问团队(BioCAT)波形器光束线18-1D运行。它的使命是为在与活细胞相似的条件下研究偏序生物分子、生物分子络合物和细胞结构提供全国性的研究资源。这类研究的目标是在分子水平上了解这类系统的详细作用机制。采用的技术有非晶态x射线衍射法、x射线散射法和x射线吸收发射谱。BioCAT设施提供了非洲大陆独一无二的资源；只有日本的Spring-8和法国的ESRF提供了类似的能力。新的推动领域包括由小角散射确定分子形状、高分辨率光谱、微发射/吸收光谱和微衍射。计划对纤维衍射领域进行重大改进，特别是肌肉衍射计划。还建议在与提高数据质量、可靠性和业务效率直接相关的几个领域开展研究和开发工作。提出了新的操作模式，以提高吞吐量和培训质量。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): We propose to continue operation of the Biophysics Collaborative Access Team (BioCAT) undulator beamline 18-1D at the Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory. It's mission is to provide a national research resource for the study of partially ordered biological molecules, complexes of biomolecules and cellular structures under conditions similar to those present in living cells. The goal of such research is to understand the detailed mechanisms of action of such systems at the molecular level. The techniques employed are non-crystalline x-ray diffraction, x-ray scattering and x-ray absorption emission spectroscopy. The BioCAT facilities provide a resource unique on the continent; only SPring-8 in Japan and the ESRF in France provide similar capabilities. New thrust areas include molecular shape determination from small angle scattering, high-resolution spectroscopy, micro-emission/absorption spectroscopy, and micro-diffraction. Major enhancements are planned for the areas of fiber diffraction, especially for the muscle diffraction program. Research and development efforts are also proposed in several areas directly related to improving data quality, reliability and efficiency of operation. Novel modes of operation are proposed that improve throughput and the quality of training.