X RAY CRYSTALLOGRAPHY
WHY X-RAY? IN ORDER TO BE OBSERVED THE DIMENTIONS OF AN OBJECT MUST BE HALF OF THE LIGHT WAVELENGHT USED TO OBSERVE IT
The wavelength of visible light is far from small enough to see an atom, it is far to big. X-Rays have short enough wavelengths to “see” the atoms and the molecular structure of molecules.
Crystallization*
Crystallization Protein Crystal
X-ray Source: x-ray tubes, rotating anode tubes, or particle storage rings Gonoimeter Detectors: X-ray films, CCD cameras, or Multiwire detectors. The Setup:
How Does X-Ray Crystallography Work ? –Image of diffraction
From diffraction to electron density map To get from the diffraction pattern to the electron density, you have to use a Fourier Transform. Fourier Transform
Resolution Resolution: another measure of how good your model is. Resolution gives the size of the smallest molecule you can see or resolve. Dependent on the amount of data ultimately phased and used in structure determination.
The Final Result A PDB coordinate file ORIGX TRX 147 ORIGX TRX 148 SCALE TRX 149 SCALE TRX 150 SCALE TRX 151 ATOM 1 N SER A TRX 152 ATOM 2 CA SER A TRX 153 ATOM 3 C SER A TRX 154 ATOM 4 O SER A TRX 155 ATOM 5 CB SER A TRX 156 ATOM 6 OG SER A TRX 157 ATOM 7 N ASP A TRX 158 ATOM 8 CA ASP A TRX 159 ATOM 9 C ASP A TRX 160 ATOM 10 O ASP A TRX 161 ATOM 11 CB ASP A TRX 162
The PDB