December 11, 2009

NSLS Hosts First Training Session on Solution X-ray Scattering

To learn the ways of solution x-ray scattering, about a dozen researchers from eight different institutions came to the NSLS on October 8-11 for hands-on training and tips from experts in the field.

The inaugural training session was based at NSLS beamline X9, a newly commissioned, undulator-based beamline that specializes in taking small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) measurements – data that are very valuable for studying biological macromolecules. The demand for beam time at X9 is high, and, to ensure that the solution-scattering user community takes full advantage of this resource, the NSLS has added staff to specifically support these experiments. As part of this user education effort, the SAXS training session – the first of many – will help even inexperienced users productively use their beam time.

Participants in the X9 small angle scattering workbench.

The training session, which attracted participants with a varying level of structural biology experience, consisted of two main components: a series of lectures and hands-on activities. The lectures introduced the participants to the basic theory of solution x-ray scattering and data analysis. The hands-on session focused on data acquisition at the beamline as well as implementing/learning how to use the software to reduce the 2D images into 1D spectra. An overview of the different software packages was given for further data analysis.

All participants acquired data on samples that they brought. "Thank you so much for the workbench," said Wolfgang Petri, a researcher at Brown University, on the course survey. "As we were looking at some data afterward we already had new ideas for additional complex measurements and refinement possibilities, especially by combining x-ray, nuclear magnetic resonance and SAXS."

NSLS scientists Lin Yang, Xinguo Hong, and Marc Allaire organized the workbench. The next training session will occur on January 28, 2010. More information can be found at http://www.nsls.bnl.gov/newsroom/events/workshops/2010/saxs/I/.