Facilities

Short summary for those who wish to use SAXS facilities

The resolution of SAXS is up to about 1.5 nm, the method can be used for macromolecules with MW from about 5 kDa up to 100 MDa.

One can study low resolution shape, quaternary structure, complex formation, add missing portions to high resolution models, analyze oligomeric mixtures and kinetic processes, and responses to changes conditions like pH, ionic strength, temperature etc.

For structure analysis (shape, quaternary structure), monodisperse samples are required. Monodispersity must be checked before doing SAXS by DLS, native gel, ultracentrifugation etc.

About 2-3 mg of purified material is needed for a complete study. The typical concentration range starts from about 0.5-1 mg/ml to about 10 mg/ml. At X33, the sample volume per measurement is currently about 30-60µl.

Beamline automation

The automated sample changers presently allows for unattended measurements. Remote control is offered to the users sinse summer 2009. For remote/Fedex operation, all samples must be fully prepared, without the necessity of dilutions or additions.

If you are interested in a collaborative proposal, EMBL staff will be happy to help you not only with data collection and processing, but also with the interpretation and model building.

• Create a new EMBL User Portal (SMIS) account and apply for SAXS beam time^NEW
  You have to create a new account even if you already have an account in the old system
• Access 2010-2011 beam time proposals Authentication required
• Sample requirements
• Beamline X33
• Beamline P12
• Available equipment
• Financial support
• DESY plan