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Speed and power of X-ray laser helps unlock molecular mysteries
Date:7/26/2012

frozen molecules, however, prevents observation of the molecules at work in their native liquid environment at room temperature.

To obtain images of these molecules in the more natural state, the researchers sent the protein nanocrystals streaming in a single-file micron-sized droplet beam (rather like an ink-jet printer) in vacuum across the X-ray beam, in a method developed at Arizona State University.

Next they fired incredibly brief bursts of X-ray laser light, about 100 times each second, at the molecules in the droplet beam, and detected the scattered X-ray patterns from each particle before the intensity of the beam blasted them apart. The researchers were able to combine these millions of snapshots to build up 3D models of the molecules with atomic-scale resolution.

One particular molecule that was studied this way was Photosystem 1-ferredoxin, which is the chemical powerhouse that drives photosynthesis. The molecules for this experiment were made in the laboratory of Arizona State University researcher Petra Fromme.

Photosystem 1 harnesses sunlight to split water to make the oxygen we breathe, absorb carbon dioxide, and produce sugars, which maintains our biosphere. These molecules were studied "in action" by exciting them with a pulse of green laser light (to mimic the effect of sunlight falling on a leaf) a few microseconds before taking their X-ray snapshot. Each snapshot then became one frame of a movie. By changing the delay between green pulse and X-ray pulse, the researchers could create a 3D movie of a biomolecule in action.

"Many other groups we are supporting now are applying the method to other proteins, such as enzymes, drug molecule targets, and imaging chemical reactions as they develop along the liquid jet," said Spence. "The important thing was to get atomic-resolution snapshot images from nanocrystals at room temperature without radiation damage."


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Contact: Catherine Meyers
cmeyers@aip.org
301-209-3088
American Institute of Physics
Source:Eurekalert

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