Laboratory for X-ray Structural Analysis

Laboratory for X-ray Structural Analysis

The Laboratory for X-ray Structural Analysis has a single-crystal diffractometer with two X-ray sources and offers a wide range of conditions for measuring single-crystal and polycrystalline samples (powders in capillaries, thin films, etc.). The available devices allow both routine and in-situ experiments under extreme conditions. The materials we analyse may be either natural or synthetic substances (minerals, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), small organic molecules, macromolecules, proteins, DNA and RNA). The results can contribute to research in materials science, solid-state chemistry, ecology, pharmacy, archaeology and other sciences.

The team provides services and scientific support both to internal research groups and to external academic partners and industrial clients.

Bruker D8 Venture laboratory cabinet instrument with transparent doors, goniometer and detector inside

Description of Activities

  • Checking a sample for crystallinity (prior to the experiment).
  • Determination of the unit cell.
  • Single-crystal data collection (without structure solution and refinement).
  • Data collection and full solution and refinement of the crystal structure.
  • Experiments under items 1 to 4 at low temperature (down to 100 K)
  • Experiments under items 1 to 4 at pressures of up to 20 GPa (liquid phase).
  • Experiments under items 1 to 4 in a gas atmosphere of up to 5 Pa (CO2, N2, 10-3 vacuum or another gas).

Equipment

  • PHOTON III – photon counter with mixed-mode technology
  • IµS 3.0 X-ray sources – microfocus Mo and Cu X-ray sources
  • KAPPA goniometer
  • APEX – the most comprehensive software package for chemical crystallography
  • PROTEUM – now with an integrated data processing system for structural biology
  • Cobra 800 – device for operation at low temperatures
  • Diacell® Bragg-(S) Plus diamond anvil cell – for high-pressure experiments
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Access to the laboratory and service requests

The laboratory is part of the research infrastructure of the National Centre of Excellence “Mechatronics and Clean Technologies” and is located on the Geo Milev campus. Requests for access and for joint research are therefore handled centrally — see Contact. In addition, a full overview of the Centre’s other laboratories is available on the page Infrastructure and Laboratories.

The laboratory’s equipment was acquired under project BG16RFPR002-1.014-0006, funded by the Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation Programme 2021–2027, co-financed by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund.