HeXI

The HeXI project aims to build an electron diffraction optimized instrument to investigate the use of mega electron volt (MeV) electrons in macromolecular structure determination. The project is a development of the state-of-the-art nano-focus VMXm beamline and works closely with the team led by Gwyndaf Evans.

• Funded by the Wellcome Trust "Electrifying Life Science" grant and Diamond Light Source
• Leverage Diamond's expertise in crystallography and instrument design towards electron diffraction
• Combine the unique sensitivity of electrons and the outstanding performance of MX goniometry

1. Rapid, routine and accurate structure determination (charge & enantiomer) of pharmaceutically relevant small molecules
2. Determination of macromolecular crystal structures where crystal sizes are inaccessible to both conventional electron microscopes and X-ray methods (~1 µm)
3. Electron serial crystallography on macromolecules where crystal sizes are limiting for X-ray work to offer very low dose structure determinations and potential milli- micro-second time resolution