Synchrotron Radiation as a Tool for Study of Biological Structure.

摘要

The availability of synchrotron radiation (SR) has extended significantly the capability of scientists who study biological structure with radiation. There are many examples of this. The high collimation of the synchrotron beam extends use of small-angle x-ray scattering to the scale accessible by light microscopes. Protein crystal structure analysis has been accomplished with crystals only 50 microns thick. Determination of atomic-resolution structures of virus particles has become almost routine with the use of synchrotron sources. The tunability of the synchrotron x-ray beam allows solution of crystal structures with only the anomalous scattering from a small number of selenium atoms used for phasing. The ''white,'' or polychromatic nature of SR allows use of Laue photography in crystallography. With this technique one may measure diffraction data several orders of magnitude more quickly than with monochromatic methods. This presents the possibility of one's using crystallographic methods to monitor dynamic processes in crystals. Vacuum-ultraviolet spectroscopy provides a new tool for investigation especially of nucleic acid structures. Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure spectroscopy has become a central tool for those who study metalloproteins. 19 refs., 7 figs.