LCLS is a Department of Energy funded user facility at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory managed by Stanford University
LCLS has an ongoing call for Rapid Access Proposals related to CoronaVirus and COVID-19 research!
LCLS enables unique experiments on many different types of biomolecules. Here is a small subset:
Membrane Proteins
Membrane proteins, which act as the gatekeepers for the cell, have been a notoriously difficult class of proteins in structural studies. However, with the advent of X-ray Free Electron Lasers more structures are being solved than ever before, providing increased insight into this important class of proteins.
Metalloproteins
Over 50% of proteins have an associated metal bound to a labile coordination site. The metal ion is used to assist in catalyzing reactions that are difficult to achieve in organic chemistry. The metal ion is highly radiation sensitive. LCLS allows for a damage-free structure of these proteins to be collected.
Structure Based Drug Design
LCLS allows for room temperature structures of drugs bound to various biomolecules. Since structural dynamics play an important role in the binding of drugs to biomolecules, room temperature data should provide better insight into the interactions between drugs and their target biomolecules.
Structural Enzymology
Enzymes act as biological catalysts that help accelerate chemical reactions inside the cell. Structural enzymology works to elucidate time-dependent structure determination in pursuit of kinetic and dynamic information.
