ID23-2: an automated and high-performance microfocus beamline for macromolecular crystallography at the ESRF.

ID23-2 is a fixed-energy (14.2 keV) microfocus beamline at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) dedicated to macromolecular crystallography. The optics and sample environment have recently been redesigned and rebuilt to take full advantage of the upgrade of the ESRF to the fourth generation Extremely Brilliant Source (ESRF-EBS).

Mechanism and dynamics of fatty acid photodecarboxylase.

Fatty acid photodecarboxylase (FAP) is a photoenzyme with potential green chemistry applications. By combining static, time-resolved, and cryotrapping spectroscopy and crystallography as well as computation, we characterized FAP reaction intermediates on time scales from subpicoseconds to milliseconds. High-resolution crystal structures from synchrotron and free electron laser x-ray sources highlighted an unusual bent shape of the oxidized flavin chromophore.

A comparative anatomy of protein crystals: lessons from the automatic processing of 56 000 samples.

The fully automatic processing of crystals of macromolecules has presented a unique opportunity to gather information on the samples that is not usually recorded. This has proved invaluable in improving sample-location, characterization and data-collection algorithms. After operating for four years, MASSIF-1 has now processed over 56 000 samples, gathering information at each stage, from the volume of the crystal to the unit-cell dimensions, the space group, the quality of the data collected and the reasoning behind the decisions made in data collection.