Instruments by Science Group
Macromolecular
Soft Condensed 
Imaging and
Biological
Magnetic
Structures and
Crystallography 
Spectroscopy XFEL-Hub contact
XFEL-Hub Principal Scientist:
Allen Orville
Tel: +44 (0) 1235 567505
E-mail: [email protected]
Serial crystallography experiments a synchrotrons and XFELs enable scientists to determine the three-dimensional structures of proteins at physiological temperatures and with atomic spatial resolution. In addition, by initiating reactions in the crystals at set time delays before measuring diffraction data, time-resolved experiments can be performed to produce molecular movies of proteins in action.
The XFEL Hub supports users performing such experiments at Diamond and at XFELs around the world and is also developing new methods relating to serial crystallography.
Dr Allen M. Orville is the group leader of the XFEL Hub which acts a focus for a number of activities:
- Development of hardware and software for serial crystallography experiments
- Provision of a sample environment lab to enable users to characterise serial crystallography samples
- Supporting user experiments and access to X-ray Free Electron Lasers (XFELs)
- Supporting time-resolved serial crystallography experiments at Diamond Light Source
Housed within the existing Diamond infrastructure, the Hub enables users to fully prepare for their experiments with currently operating XFELs. The XFEL Hub provides support in terms of sample preparation, data processing and training.
The UK is taking a leading role in the development of the structural biology facility (SFX) at the European X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL), in Hamburg, Germany, and a complementary facility at Diamond (The UK XFEL Hub) to help develop the required expertise.
The UK is a leading member of the serial femtosecond crystallography user consortium (SFX-UC), and through its role in the collaboration, has helped to deliver a dual instrument at the European XFEL that enables visiting scientific users to image macromolecules from nanocrystals on the SFX instrument and single particles using scattering of coherent X-rays on the SPB instrument.
The SFX-UC brings together members of the scientific communities in Germany, United Kingdom, Sweden, Slovakia, Switzerland, United States and Australia.
Sample injector at the CXI instrument at LCLS, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
New MFX end station at LCLS, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
CXI control cabin at LCLS, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
Far experimental hall at LCLS, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, USA
XFEL-hub team, 2022
For more information on the UK-XFEL Hub, please contact Allen Orville.
Diamond Light Source is the UK's national synchrotron science facility, located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire.
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Diamond House
Harwell Science & Innovation Campus
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 0DE
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