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  • Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS)
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Linac Coherent Light Source
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    • Metalloproteins
    • Membrane Proteins
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    • Serial Femtosecond Crystallography
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    • Center for Structural Dynamics in Biology
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NIH Logo  HIGHLIGHT |  LCLS partners with the NIH to create the Center for Structural Dynamics in Biology. Learn more

 

Explore Biology at LCLS

X-ray free electron lasers such as the LCLS have been revolutionary in structural biology, allowing unique experiments on diverse biological targets. 

 

 

About Us 

 

 

2-color X-ray Laser Technique

 

Science Impact

X-ray free electron lasers have allowed us to make exciting discoveries in biology.

Check out the scientific impact of LCLS here.

 

How a Single Chemical Bond Balances Cells Between Life and Death

Metalloproteins

Outrunning X-ray radiation damage with the use of X-ray FELs, like LCLS, enables the determination of room temperature metalloprotein structures.

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Membrane Proteins

Measuring X-ray diffraction from nanocrystals using X-ray FELs like LCLS allows structures of difficult-to-crystallize proteins to be determined.

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This illustration shows arrestin (yellow), an important type of signaling protein, while docked with rhodopsin (orange), a G protein-coupled receptor.

This illustration depicts an experiment at SLAC that revealed how a protein from photosynthetic bacteria changes shape in response to light.

Photoactive Proteins

LCLS has allowed studying the active state structure of photosensitive proteins from femto- to milliseconds after photoactivation.

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Structural Enzymology

X-ray free electron lasers like LCLS have become vital for studying the structural rearrangements in enzymes during biological reactions.

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When X-rays (yellow beam) pass through a crystal (green shapes), they form an intensity pattern on a detector behind the crystal that is dominated by bright spots (dots in the background).

This image shows how at LCLS, crystallized ribosomes travel through a capillary into the interaction region, where they are zapped with a beam of X-rays.

Structure-Based Drug Design

Solving structures at ambient temperature with minimal radiation damage through LCLS provides more accurate information on binding pockets.

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Work with Us

Scientists worldwide have used LCLS's unique capabilities to explore previously unreachable areas in fields like biology, generating hundreds of articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals published in journals like Science and Nature.

 

 

Become a User »

 

The LCLS encourages scientists to submit proposals for experiments that utilize LCLS's unique capabilities.

Center for Structural Dynamics in Biology »

Molecule Icon

LCLS partners with NIH to create the Center for Structural Dynamics in Biology to build new capabilities in drug design and enzymology that are available to all scientists.

Instruments »

 

LCLS features seven specialized instrument hutches to conduct pioneering research and assist users with experiments

Laboratories »

 

Labs are available and equipped for biosample preparation and manipulation and final stage sample preparations.

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Biology LCLS

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory | 2575 Sand Hill Road MS103, Menlo Park, CA 94025

Operated by Stanford University for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science

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