A single-piece hybrid droplet generator and nozzle component for serial crystallography. The single-piece hybrid droplet generator component including an internally-formed droplet-generation channel, an internally-formed sample channel, a nozzle, and a pair of electrode chambers. The droplet-generation channel extends from a first fluid inlet opening to the nozzle. The sample channel extends from a second fluid inlet opening to the droplet-generation channel and joins the droplet-generation channel at a junction. The nozzle is configured to eject a stream of segmented aqueous droplets in a carrier fluid from the droplet-generation channel through a nozzle opening of the single-piece component. The pair of electrode chambers are positioned adjacent to the droplet-generation channel near the junction between the droplet-generation channel and the sample channel. The timing of sample droplets in the stream of fluid ejected through the nozzle is controlled by applying a triggering signal to electrodes positioned in the electrode chambers of the single-piece component.

A method of detecting an anomaly in a crystallographic structure, the method comprising: illuminating the structure with x-ray radiation in a known direction relative to the crystallographic orientation; positioning the structure such that its crystallographic orientation is known; detecting a pattern of the diffracted x-ray radiation transmitted through the structure; generating the simulated pattern based on the known direction relative to the crystallographic orientation; comparing the detected pattern to a simulated pattern for x-ray radiation illuminating in the known direction; and, detecting the anomaly in the crystallographic structure based on the comparison.

A sample preparation method includes disposing a microcrystal on an electrically conductive grid, coating the microcrystal with an electrically conductive material to yield a coated microcrystal, milling the coated microcrystal with a first ion beam to yield a milled microcrystal, and polishing the milled microcrystal with a second ion beam to yield a polished microcrystal. A length of a side of the milled microcrystal is between about 250 nm and about 500 nm, and a length of the corresponding side of the polished microcrystal is between about 150 nm and about 250 nm. Assessing the crystal structure of the polished microcrystal includes rotating the polished microcrystal while accelerating electrons toward the polished microcrystal, diffracting the electrons from the polished microcrystal to yield a multiplicity of diffraction patterns, and assessing, from the multiplicity of diffraction patterns, the crystal structure of the polished microcrystal.

Methods and systems are provided for serial femtosecond crystallography for reducing the vast amount of waste of injected crystals practiced with traditional continuous flow injections. A micrometer-scale 3-D printed water-in-oil droplet generator device includes an oil phase inlet channel, an aqueous phase inlet channel, a droplet flow outlet channel, and two embedded non-contact electrodes. The inlet and outlet channels are connected internally at a junction. The electrodes comprise gallium metal injected within the 3-D printed device. Voltage across the electrodes generates water-in-oil droplets, determines a rate for a series of droplets, or triggers a phase shift in the droplets. An external trigger generates the droplets based on the frequency of an XFEL utilized in droplet detection, thereby synchronizing a series of droplets with x-ray pulses for efficient crystal detection. The generated droplets can be coupled to an SFX with XFEL experiment compatible with common liquid injector such as a GDVN.

A single-crystal X-ray structure analysis system capable of surely and easily performing a precise step of soaking a very small amount of a sample in a framework of a fine crystalline sponge, is provided. There are provided a soaking apparatus 500 and a single-crystal X-ray structure analysis apparatus, the single-crystal X-ray structure analysis apparatus comprising a sample holder that holds a sample, the sample holder comprising a porous complex crystal capable of soaking the sample in a plurality of fine pores formed therein; a goniometer that rotationally moves, the goniometer to which the sample holder is attached; an X-ray irradiation section that irradiates the X-rays from the X-ray source to the sample held by the sample holder attached to the goniometer; wherein the soaking apparatus 500 soaks the sample in the porous complex crystal of the sample holder.

A 3D printed hybrid nozzle device combining a microfluidic mixer with a liquid jet injector that addresses the bottleneck of investigating substrate-initiated biological reaction paths employing serial crystallography with XFELs. The hybrid nozzle provides for injecting aqueous protein crystal jets after fast mixing (<5 ms), reaching reaction time points (e.g., about 10 ms to about 150 ms) suitable to resolve enzyme kinetics.

An electron diffraction apparatus measures an overall structure of a crystal of a specimen by electron diffraction. An NMR apparatus measures a local structure of the crystal by NMR measurement. An analysis apparatus combines the overall structure and the local structure to specify a structure of the crystal.

The invention is directed to a method for elucidating the three-dimensional structure of compounds by X-ray diffraction (X-ray SCD) characterized in that the compound is co-analyte crystallized with tetraaryladamantanes according to general formula I Wherein R and R are identical or different residues selected from the group consisting of OR1, SR1, NHR1, NR1R2, F, Cl, Br or I and R1, R2 stand for identical or different, substituted on not substituted aliphatic or aromatic residues having 1 to 25 carbon atoms and the the three-dimensional structure of the compound is obtained by X-ray diffraction (X-ray SCD). ##STR00001##

Methods and systems are provided for serial femtosecond crystallography for reducing the vast amount of waste of injected crystals practiced with traditional continuous flow injections. A micrometer-scale 3-D printed water-in-oil droplet generator device includes an oil phase inlet channel, an aqueous phase inlet channel, a droplet flow outlet channel, and two embedded non-contact electrodes. The inlet and outlet channels are connected internally at a junction. The electrodes comprise gallium metal injected within the 3-D printed device. Voltage across the electrodes generates water-in-oil droplets, determines a rate for a series of droplets, or triggers a phase shift in the droplets. An external trigger generates the droplets based on the frequency of an XFEL utilized in droplet detection, thereby synchronizing a series of droplets with x-ray pulses for efficient crystal detection. The generated droplets can be coupled to an SFX with XFEL experiment compatible with common liquid injector such as a GDVN.

The present invention refers to a detector and a method for obtaining Kikuchi images by using electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) or transmission Kikuchi diffraction (TKD) technique. In particular, the present invention refers to a detector comprising a detector body, a detector head with a scintillation screen and a photodetector with a active surface for detecting Kikuchi patterns, and means configured to move the detector head with respect to the detector body. The method comprises obtaining a first and a second Kikuchi pattern, and moving the detector head after obtaining the first Kikuchi pattern and prior obtaining the second Kikuchi pattern.