The X-ray Crystallography Center at Boston College Chemistry was fully renovated in November 2007 and houses two single-crystal X-ray diffraction systems, A Bruker APEX CCD diffractometer and a Rigaku HighFlux Homelab diffractometer, providing X-ray diffraction tools for structural characterization of both small molecules (organic, inorganic and organometallic) and macromolecules. X-ray structure analyses of small-molecules are conducted primarily on single crystals submitted by researchers in the department. As an extension service, the facility also accepts sample submissions from other departments within the university and from research organizations outside the university.
Students are encouraged to learn to operate the instrumentation, collect data themselves, and solve their own structures. Practical training, supervision, advice, and assistance are provided by the facility director. The art and science of X-ray crystallography are introduced as a graduate/undergraduate course. Graduate students and post-docs who have completed in-house training may work independently. Undergraduate students generally work directly with the facility director.
Service
The X-Ray Crystallography Center operates on a 24/7 schedule.
Service is provided for all aspects of small molecule crystallography:
- Crystallization
- Sample examination and evaluation (optical and diffraction)
- Data collection and reduction
- Structure solution and refinement
- Presentation graphics preparation
- Preparation of tables and cif files for publication
- File submission to the Cambridge Structural Database™
Turn around time is highly dependent on crystal quality and size.
Complete Facility Description
Small Molecule Diffractometer
Biomacromolecule Diffractometer
Complete X-Ray Crystallography Center Description page
1. Small Molecule Diffractometer
The facility maintains a Siemens 3-circle geometry platform diffractometer with an upgraded Bruker APEX CCD area detector, Mo radiation, and a video camera for easy crystal centering. This system is used primarily for low temperature work (– 80 °C) and can effectively obtain high quality data from small crystals within a relatively short period of time. An Olympus SZ1145 stereo zoom microscope is used to view and mount crystals. The X-ray Crystallographic Facility also includes a Crystal Growth Laboratory, equipped to aid students in obtaining crystals suitable for structure determination.
The facility has two Pentium PCs for data collection, structure solution and refinement. Software packages include SMART, SAINT, SHELXTL, SADABS/TWINABS, CELL_NOW, ROTAX, and a license for the Cambridge Structural Database™ (CSD).
2. Biomacromolecule Diffractometer
The facility maintains a macromolecular crystallography system consisting of a Rigaku MicroMax-07 HF high intensity microfocus rotating Cu anode X-ray generator, coupled with Osmic VariMax Optics and a R-Axis IV++ image plate area detector. In addition, an Oxford Cryojet system is installed for low temperature capabilities (90 – 300 K). This state of the art system enables high-resolution data collection on a wide range of protein crystal samples, including small and poorly diffracting samples with large unit cell dimensions. The Facility also operates two constant temperature rooms for crystal growth and sample preparation.
Associated computational and graphics equipments include several servers and workstations running Windows or Linux. Software packages include RigakuMSC's CrystalClear, HKL-2000, CNS and CCP4.
