| I23@Diamond | |
|---|---|
| Name | I23@Diamond |
| Location | Oxfordshire, United Kingdom |
| Facility | Diamond Light Source |
| Type | Synchrotron radiation |
| Focus | Macromolecular crystallography |
| Energy range | 0.5–1.5 keV |
| Status | Operational |
I23@Diamond I23@Diamond is a specialized soft X-ray macromolecular crystallography beamline at Diamond Light Source that enables long-wavelength experiments for anomalous scattering and phasing. Located at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxfordshire, the beamline integrates cryogenic and in-vacuum techniques to study biological macromolecules, membranes, and metalloproteins. It serves users from universities, biotechnology companies, and pharmaceutical research groups pursuing structure determination using sulfur, phosphorus, and other light-atom anomalous signals.
I23@Diamond operates within the synchrotron complex of Diamond Light Source alongside beamlines such as I02, I04, I04-1, B21, and B18. The beamline exploits a undulator source and a dedicated beamline optics suite to deliver soft X-ray photons suitable for long-wavelength macromolecular crystallography, complementing hard X-ray facilities like European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, ESRF, and SPring-8. Its scientific remit intersects with research carried out at institutions including University of Oxford, Imperial College London, University College London, Max Planck Society, and Wellcome Trust-funded laboratories.
The beamline incorporates an in-vacuum diffractometer, a custom detector optimized for low-energy photons, and a cryocooling platform adapted from designs used at Swiss Light Source and Diamond Light Source beamlines. Key components include an undulator source, double-crystal monochromator, and focusing optics similar to those used on ESRF beamlines. Sample environments support robotics drawn from systems developed by Rigaku, Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource, and EMBL collaborations. Control software interfaces with EPICS, GDA, and data-reduction tools interoperable with XDS, DIALS, and CCP4 suite packages.
I23@Diamond enables long-wavelength anomalous dispersion (LWAD), single-wavelength anomalous dispersion (SAD), and multi-wavelength anomalous dispersion (MAD) experiments exploiting anomalous scattering from sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, and transition metals such as iron, copper, and zinc. The in-vacuum approach reduces air absorption comparable to systems at PROXIMA-1 and P14 (PETRA III), allowing experiments at wavelengths near the sulfur K-edge and phosphorus K-edge. Support for microfocus crystallography and serial crystallography aligns the beamline with methodologies developed at LCLS, XFEL, and PAL-XFEL. Data-processing workflows integrate phasing with programs from Phenix, Shelx, and AutoSol.
The beamline has been applied to structure determination of metalloenzymes from research groups at University of Cambridge, University of Manchester, University of Edinburgh, and University of Bristol, and to membrane-protein projects linked to Membrane Protein Laboratory and Structural Genomics Consortium. Studies exploiting sulfur-SAD for native phasing have produced models complementing work at Protein Data Bank depositors and coordinated efforts with Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics and MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. I23@Diamond supported investigations into metalloproteins involved in photosynthesis pathways studied by teams from Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry and University of California, Berkeley. Collaborative projects with Diamond Light Source industrial partners have targeted fragment-based drug discovery relevant to AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Novartis.
Conceived during planning phases at Diamond Light Source and funded through capital programs involving UK Research and Innovation and strategic partners such as Wellcome Trust, the beamline development drew on expertise from European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, Swiss Light Source, and Diamond Light Source engineering teams. Design milestones referenced methods pioneered at DLS I02 and innovations from EMBL Hamburg and SOLEIL projects. Commissioning phases involved collaborations with Bioscience consortia and international groups from Japan, United States, and Germany. Ongoing upgrades follow roadmaps aligned with initiatives like UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship-supported research and instrumentation strategies at Diamond Light Source.
Access to I23@Diamond is managed through the Diamond Light Source user program, including peer-reviewed proposals, rapid-access experiments, and proprietary access for companies such as AstraZeneca and GSK. Training and beamtime allocation procedures echo practices at ESRF and APS user facilities. Safety systems comply with standards from Health and Safety Executive and integrate radiation protection protocols similar to those at CERN and STFC sites. User support covers sample preparation guidance, remote access modeled on systems used at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source and SwissFEL, and data management compatible with UK Data Archive and ELIXIR policies.
Category:Synchrotron beamlines Category:Diamond Light Source Category:Macromolecular crystallography