ID2 Scientific and Industrial Applications

• Soft condensed matter

  Soft matter studies most often involve probing the equilibrium, nonequilibrium and transient microstructures in systems such as colloids, polymers, surfactants membranes, proteins, etc. In these studies, a variety of techniques such as rheology, stopped-flow rapid mixing, etc. are combined with SAXS or simultaneous SAXS/WAXS. The high resolution and improved sensitivity of SAXS can be exploited to probe the spatial distribution of counterions in charged soft matter by the anomalous SAXS method. The high dynamic range of SAXS/USAXS techniques permits elucidating the multiple structural levels of a large variety of soft matter systems.

• Non-crystalline structural biology

  The noncrystalline structural biology work is largely centered around the structure-function relationship. For example in muscle by combining very precise mechanics and high resolution small-angle diffraction allow molecular level understanding of the mechanism of contraction down to the sub-millisecond time scale. Time resolved studies can also be done in solution e.g. by combining with the stopped-flow mixing to probe the supermolecular structure under in-vitro conditions. Examples include protein interactions and folding.

• Interdisciplinary areas of soft matter and nanoscience

  Many exotic nanostructured systems are realized by the hierarchical self-assembly of complex molecules. High resolution SAXS or a combination of SAXS and WAXS is a very powerful and non destructive technique to elucidate such hierarchical structures. Examples include the self-assembly of amphiphilic peptides, complexes of cationic lipids with biopolymers such as DNA, actin, etc. In another situation, the growth kinetics of pyrolytic nanoparticles under extreme dilute conditions (φ < 10^-7) can be studied in the sub-millisecond range.

• Industrial

  Combined SAXS/WAXS is a powerful method to determine the microstructure and phase behavior of multi-component systems involved in cosmetics, detergents, pharmaceuticals, polymers, etc. In addition, in-situ studies can be performed under similar conditions as that involved in industrial processing (e.g. polymers).

Selected examples:

• Soft condensed matter:

  • The birth of micelles revealed by synchrotron light (Spotlight 2009)
  • Directed motion of proteins along tethered polyelectrolytes (ESRF Highlights 2008)
  • Early stages of polymer melt crystallisation (ESRF Highlights 2007)
    

  • Dynamics of structural transformations between the lamellar and inverse bicontinuous cubic lyotropic phases (ESRF Highlights 2006)

  • Kinetic arrest and glass-glass transitions in short-ranged attractive colloids (ESRF Highlights 2006)

  • Magnetic-Field-Induced Nematic to Columnar Phase Transition (ESRF Highlights 2005)

  • Kinetics and Mechanisms of Electric Field Induced Alignment of Block Copolymer Solution (ESRF Highlights 2005)

  • Micellar Self-assembly on the Millisecond Timescale (ESRF Highlights 2004)

  • Visualisation of Nanostructure Evolution during Polymer Crystallisation (ESRF Highlights 2004)

  • Counterion Distribution in Spherical Polyelectrolyte Brushes (ESRF Highlights 2003)

  • A Mineral Liquid-Crystalline Lamellar Phase (ESRF Highlights 2001)

  • Ribbon Phase in a Two-Phase Shear Flow (ESRF Highlights 2000)

• Noncrystalline structural biology:

  • The molecular basis of the braking action of muscle studied by X-ray interference (ESRF Highlights 2008)
    
  • X-ray Diffraction Reveals a New Mechanism of Muscle Contraction (ESRF Highlights 2004)
  • Nucleation and Growth Kinetics of Brome Mosaic Virus Microcrystals (ESRF Highlights 2004)
  • Structure of Live Muscle (ESRF Highlights 2001)

• Interdisciplinary topics

  • Nanoparticles in ball-lightning-like fireballs (Spotlight 2008)
    
  • Self-organisation during a drying process for porous grains (ESRF Highlights 2007)

  • Structure and function of self-assembled liposome-DNA-metal complexes for gene transfer (ESRF Highlights 2006)

  • Human Breast Tissue Characterisation with Small-angle X-ray Scattering (ESRF Highlights 2004)

  • In situ Study of Nanomaterial Growth in Flames (Spotlight 2004)
  • Supramolecular Organisation of Biomimetic Nanotubes (ESRF Highlights 2002)

  • Sliding Columnar Phase in DNA-Membrane Complexes (ESRF Highlights 2000)

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