USER ORIENTATION, TRAINING AND SUPPORT FOR BIO-SAXS/D DATA ACQUISITION AND DATA

Stanford University, Stanford CA

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Abstract

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The SSRL BTP staff provides user hands-on training for the effective use of the SMB SAXS/D instrument. Users first receive a brief safety orientation specific to BL4-2 and updates on recent equipment changes. Users receive a short tutorial on Blu-ICE used for the majority of non-crystalline scattering and diffraction experiments. They also receive training on the use of MarParse, the data processing program for solution scattering developed recently by the BTP staff, as well as its GUI version MarParseDlg. Users are instructed on the basics in solution x-ray scattering data analysis, such as inspecting data for possible radiation-induced aggregation, subtracting the background, and calculating radii of gyration. The data processing program Fit2D, developed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, as well as Primus from EMBL-Hamburg are also covered upon request. Introductory tutorials to the sophisticated solution scattering data interpretation software packages, developed by Dr. Svergun (EMBL-Hamburg), are covered. Users are advised on practical experimental aspects on experiment geometries, sample-handling equipment, and data collection strategies especially for minimizing radiation damage to help improve data quality. These are given to new user groups and have been found useful also for experienced users.