SGER: Serial Crystallography

该奖项支持启动一个探索性项目，其长期目标是开发用于确定无法结晶的蛋白质的三维原子结构的设备和程序。新设备将用于产生一束超液氦滴，每个液氦滴含有一个水合蛋白分子。利用激光将分子定向在液滴内，并通过高能电子束使液滴通过产生电子衍射图样。来自单个液滴的数据将结合起来提供衍射图案，然后使用最近开发的迭代方法进行分析。另外，可以使用依赖于同构替换的更标准的方法。该奖项支持的两个初始步骤包括开发液氦温度下亚微米尺寸玻璃冰球中的水合蛋白分子束源，以及开发能够分析掺杂冰球射流的电子衍射相机和区域探测器。激光光谱学将用于确认冰球中的蛋白质没有变性，第二步的成功将通过寻找掺杂冰球光束中的蛋白质的德拜-谢勒环电子衍射图来证明。该项目将为一名博士后提供培训，并将增加现有部门教育推广工作的内容。

This award supports the initiation of an exploratory project whose long term aim is development of equipment and procedures for determination of the three-dimensional atomic structure of proteins that cannot be crystallized. The new equipment will be used to generate a beam of superliquid helium drops, each containing a single hydrated protein molecule. The molecules will be oriented within the drops by use of laser, and an electron diffraction pattern will be generated by passing the drops through a high energy electron beam. Data from individual drops will be combined to provide a diffraction pattern, and then analyzed using recently developed iterative methods. Alternatively, more standard approaches that depend on isomorphous replacement can be used. The two initial steps to be supported by this award include the development of a molecular-beam source of hydrated proteins in submicron-sized, vitreous ice balls at liquid helium temperature, and the development of an electron diffraction camera and area detector capable of analysis of the jet of the doped ice balls. Laser spectroscopy will be used to confirm that proteins in the ice-balls are not denatured, and the success of the second step will be demonstrated by looking for Debye-Scherrer ring electron diffraction patterns from the proteins in the beam of doped ice balls. The project will provide traing for a postdoctoral student, and will augment the content of existing departmental education outreach efforts.