Twisted X-rays unravel the complexity of helical structures
Tuesday, February 9, 2016 - 11:17
in Physics & Chemistry
Since the discovery of the diffraction of X-rays by crystals just over 100 years ago, X-ray diffraction as a method of structure determination has dominated structural research in materials science and biology. However, many of the most important materials whose structures remain unknown do not readily crystallize as three-dimensional periodic structures. Crystallization can also alter the properties of the material to be studied: a crystallized protein may not function in the way that it would in its natural state, and confining nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes within a crystal lattice can also alter their behaviour.