X-Ray Crystallography Core
The X-ray Crystallography Core provides instrumentation for the determination of crystal structures using X-ray diffraction techniques. Central to this technique is the ability to rapidly collect X-ray diffraction data from macromolecular crystals in order to elucidate their molecular three-dimensional structure. This approach is being used by several UMass Chan laboratories to illuminate the atomic level functioning of macromolecular in cells including uncovering contributions of protein molecules to disease processes and for structure-based drug design.
Facilities are housed on the 9th floor of the Lazare Research Building (LRB). The facility includes instrumentation purchased in 2012 from Rigaku using an NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant supplemented by UMass Chan funds (shown below) including a MicroMax-007 HF Microfocus rotating anode X-ray generator and Osmic optics. In 2019 we obtained a CS800 integrated auto-fill nitrogen gas cryostream system for more reliably maintaining protein crystals at cryogenic temperatures during X-ray data collection. In 2021, we upgraded the detector system with a new state-of-the-art HyPix-6000HE Hybrid Photon Counting (HPC) detector which permits more accurate and higher resolution diffraction data than our previous detector. With these upgrades, the core provides for very rapid, reliable and accurate diffraction data collection.
UMass Chan scientists interested in the X-ray Crystallography Core Facilities may contact the Core director,
Dr. Ala M. Shaqra for more information.