Department of Biomolecular Mechanisms, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Jahnstrasse 29, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
Acta Crystallogr D Struct Biol. 2019 Feb 1;75(Pt 2):178-191. doi: 10.1107/S205979831801567X. Epub 2019 Jan 9.
The high peak brilliance and femtosecond pulse duration of X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) provide new scientific opportunities for experiments in physics, chemistry and biology. In structural biology, one of the major applications is serial femtosecond crystallography. The intense XFEL pulse results in the destruction of any exposed microcrystal, making serial data collection mandatory. This requires a high-throughput serial approach to sample delivery. To this end, a number of such sample-delivery techniques have been developed, some of which have been ported to synchrotron sources, where they allow convenient low-dose data collection at room temperature. Here, the current sample-delivery techniques used at XFEL and synchrotron sources are reviewed, with an emphasis on liquid injection and high-viscosity extrusion, including their application for time-resolved experiments. The challenges associated with sample delivery at megahertz repetition-rate XFELs are also outlined.
X 射线自由电子激光（XFEL）的高峰值亮度和飞秒脉冲持续时间为物理、化学和生物学实验提供了新的科学机遇。在结构生物学中，主要应用之一是连续飞秒晶体学。强烈的 XFEL 脉冲会破坏任何暴露的微晶体，因此必须进行连续数据采集。这需要高通量的连续进样方法。为此，已经开发了许多此类样品输送技术，其中一些已经移植到同步加速器源，在那里它们允许在室温下方便地进行低剂量数据采集。本文综述了 XFEL 和同步加速器源中使用的当前样品输送技术，重点介绍了液体喷射和高粘度挤出，包括它们在时间分辨实验中的应用。还概述了与兆赫兹重复率 XFEL 样品输送相关的挑战。
