Background In the realm of electron microscopy, there is a burgeoning interest in investigating dynamic processes like protein folding and molecular interactions in real time. However, traditional methods mostly yield static images, which makes it difficult to investigate fast-moving dynamic occurrences. One of the main challenges is that protein samples...

Background Protein X-ray crystallography has become one of the most successful structural biology techniques since the first three-dimensional structure of myoglobin, a protein, was revealed. Many important scientific discoveries have been made using X-ray crystallography, including understanding insulin’s mechanism of action, mass production...

Single-cell proteomics is an emerging field for proteomic analyses of individual cells. Single-cell genomic analyses have greatly expanded our understanding of cell heterogeneity and disease progression; however, protein identification and quantitative cell-to-cell variation provide a deeper level of understanding of the biological regulators in the...

­Background Microfluidic devices are commonly used in serial crystallography applications. In most serial crystallography experiments, the sample molecules are formed into droplets through electrical stimulation, then injected into a focused beam of electrons or X-rays so their structure can be analyzed. The various components of the experiment...

­Background Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) possess unique physical, optical, and electrical properties with great potential for future nanoscale device applications. Common synthesis procedures yield SWNTs with large length polydispersity and varying chirality. Electrical and optical applications of SWNTs often require specific lengths,...

Background Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are materials that absorb infrared light and emit in the ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-NIR) range. Thus, there is a large Stokes shift between excitation and emission, with no overlap. UCNPs—which typically include a NaYF4 or NaGdF4 matrix doped with other lanthanides—can be used for...

Background Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) with recent advances in X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) is a revolutionary technique for determining the structure of macromolecules at ambient temperature. It has enabled the study of large membrane protein complexes at atomic resolution and their reaction dynamics, previously considered impossible...

Background Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) with X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) has enabled crystal structure determination of reaction intermediates at ambient temperatures. Unlike traditional crystallography, where a single crystal is irradiated as it rotates, SFX usually involves the injection of a continuous stream of randomly oriented...

Standard diffusion-based crystallization methods are slow and difficult to quantitate, making them extremely ineffective. Initial materials for crystallization are prohibitively expensive, limiting applications such as serial femtosecond crystallography. Researchers around the world have been working on different micro-/nanobatch techniques to simplify...