Fortmann-Grote Carsten, Buzmakov Alexey, Jurek Zoltan, Loh Ne-Te Duane, Samoylova Liubov, Santra Robin, Schneidmiller Evgeny A, Tschentscher Thomas, Yakubov Sergey, Yoon Chun Hong, Yurkov Michael V, Ziaja-Motyka Beata, Mancuso Adrian P
European XFEL GmbH, Holzkoppel 4, 22869 Schenefeld, Germany.
FSRC 'Crystallography and Photonics', Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation.
IUCrJ. 2017 Sep 1;4(Pt 5):560-568. doi: 10.1107/S2052252517009496.
Single-particle imaging with X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) has the potential to provide structural information at atomic resolution for non-crystalline biomolecules. This potential exists because ultra-short intense pulses can produce interpretable diffraction data notwithstanding radiation damage. This paper explores the impact of pulse duration on the interpretability of diffraction data using comprehensive and realistic simulations of an imaging experiment at the European X-ray Free-Electron Laser. It is found that the optimal pulse duration for molecules with a few thousand atoms at 5 keV lies between 3 and 9 fs.
利用X射线自由电子激光（XFEL）进行单粒子成像，有潜力为非晶态生物分子提供原子分辨率的结构信息。之所以存在这种潜力，是因为尽管存在辐射损伤，但超短强脉冲仍可产生可解释的衍射数据。本文通过对欧洲X射线自由电子激光成像实验进行全面而逼真的模拟，探讨了脉冲持续时间对衍射数据可解释性的影响。研究发现，对于含有几千个原子、能量为5 keV的分子，最佳脉冲持续时间在3至9 飞秒之间。
