Advanced Photon Source (APS) Macromolecular Crystallography users have been allocated access to Diamond during the APS Upgrade installation (starting April 2023) and beamline commissioning period. Users from the general user program, LS-CAT and SER-CAT have applied via APS for access to four high-throughput MX beamlines at Diamond (I04, I24, I03, and I04-1). 

Another call will go out to the APS users for the time later in the upgrade installation.

Two training sessions were run covering administration and data collection respectively, the talks and slides from these are below.

A summary of Macromolecular crystallography at Diamond.

Slides: Macromolecular Crystallography at Diamond

An overview of roles within a Diamond Proposal.

Slides: Accessing Diamond

An overview of the User Administration System (UAS), Specifically focuses on the actions required to set up samples, visits, and data access. As well as how access is granted to differently named roles in the proposal.

Slides: User Administration System

A summary of the shipment instructions for arranging a shipment to Diamond. 

Slides: Arranging Shipments

An explanation of how visits are scheduled. Most MX visits are scheduled once samples arrive at Diamond. Visits can be rebooked if preferred, especially for training. 

Slides: Scheduling remote visits

Summary of sample holders used; for normal MX experiments Diamond uses Unipucks and SPINE pins.

Slides: Sample holders

An overview of how Unattended Data Collection works at Diamond. 

Slides: Unattended Data Collection

GDA is used for interactive remote data collection.

ISPyB  (also called Synchweb) is our web portal for shipments, sample and data management, viewing data collections, autoprocessing and downstream processing.

• Processed data can be retrieved using ISPyB logs and files
• Small files less than 20 gigabytes can be transferred using file copy protocols such as rsync
• Raw Data (i.e. Diffraction Images) can be archived at any time from 40 days after the visit for academic users
  • This can be retrieved via Globus
• Archived data is stored on tape – a single non-redundant copy is kept on tape
• Retrieval after 40 days is via Data Gateway
• 3 years after data is collected - Data can be made available on an open-access basis under a CC-BY-4.0 licence.
  • An extension to this period can be made by the principal investigator

Slides: Data Retrieval

A summary of the features on I04, a beamline accessible for this APS call. 

Slides: I04

A summary of the features on I24, a beamline accessible for this APS call. 

Slides: I24

The long-wavelength macromolecular crystallography beamline I23 is a unique facility for solving the crystallographic phase problem, and/or identifying and locating lighter atoms of biological relevance such as S, P, Cl, K and Ca. 

Access is not provided directly by this call, but rapid access to the beamline can be arranged. Initially please get in touch with Armin Wagner the principal beamline scientist of I23. 

Crystallographic fragment screening is enabled throughout the XChem facility at Diamond. The talk gives a brief summary of how the experiment works, and what is needed to take a crystal system through XChem.

Academic access to XChem is via a standard 6-monthly proposal call system within Diamond, to discuss viability contact Frank von Delft and/or Daren Fearon. For proprietary access, contact Alex Dias from the Industrial Liaison Office.

Slides: Brief Introduction to XChem

The membrane protein laboratory is a facility that supports membrane protein structural biology projects at any stage from the high-throughput cloning of constructs all the way through to assisting with structural solutions.

Access to the membrane protein laboratory should be discussed with Dr Andrew Quigley 

Slides: Membrane Protein Laboratory

The Versatile Macromolecular Xtallography in-situ (VMXi) beamline is dedicated to room temperature data collection from macromolecular crystals. It is an entirely automated facility for characterisation of, and data collection directly from, crystallisation experiments in situ.

Slides: VMXi