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Trey
Guest
,
Patrik
Vagovic
,
Luigi
Adriano
,
Johan
Bielecki
,
Sarlota
Birnsteinova
,
Rita
Graceffa
,
Jayanath
Koliyadu
,
Kaye
Morgan
,
Hiiro
Moriyama
,
Daniel
Mosko
,
Grant
Van Riessen
,
Kristian
Sabol
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Peter
Szeles
,
Zane
Taylor
,
Jozef
Ulicny
,
Richard
Bean
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Brian
Abbey
Open Access
Abstract: Wavefront characterization is essential for diagnosing, interpreting and mitigating performance limitations at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs). However, the dramatic increase in thermal load and data throughput at high repetition rates makes established wavefront characterization methods difficult to implement effectively. Here, we demonstrate that X-ray speckle arising from beamline optics can enable fast, robust and sensor-free wavefront metrology at next-generation XFEL facilities. Combining this approach with a statistical formulation of X-ray speckle tracking, we quantify local wavefront fluctuations within pulse trains at the European XFEL. We find that shot-to-shot wavefront fluctuations are predominantly planar phase tilts with distinct statistical signatures across intra- and inter-train timescales. The dominant source of wavefront error is periodic at frequencies consistent with known mechanical oscillation modes of the photon transport optics, while intra-train fluctuations correlate with instabilities in the electron bunch trajectory. Our results establish a practical framework for high-repetition-rate wavefront characterization and diagnostics at next-generation XFELs.
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Sep 2026
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Abhishek
Mall
,
Anna
Munke
,
Parichita
Mazumder
,
Zhou
Shen
,
Johan
Bielecki
,
Juncheng
E
,
Armando D.
Estillore
,
Chan
Kim
,
Romain
Letrun
,
Jannik
Lübke
,
Safi
Rafie-Zinedine
,
Adam
Round
,
Ekaterina
Round
,
Michael
Rütten
,
Amit K.
Samanta
,
Abhisakh
Sarma
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Florian
Schulz
,
Carolin
Seuring
,
Tamme
Wollweber
,
Lena
Worbs
,
Patrik
Vagovic
,
Richard
Bean
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Ne-Te Duane
Loh
,
Tobias
Beck
,
Jochen
Küpper
,
Filipe R. N. C.
Maia
,
Henry N.
Chapman
,
Kartik
Ayyer
Open Access
Abstract: Single-stranded RNA viruses co-assemble their capsid with the genome, and variations in capsid structures can have significant functional relevance. In particular, viruses need to respond to a dehydrating environment to prevent genomic degradation and remain active upon rehydration. Theoretical work has predicted low-energy buckling transitions in icosahedral capsids, which could protect the virus from further dehydration. However, there has been no direct experimental evidence, nor a molecular mechanism, for such behavior. Here, we observe this transition using X-ray single particle imaging of MS2 bacteriophages after aerosolization. Using a combination of machine learning tools, we classify hundreds of thousands of single-particle diffraction patterns to learn the structural landscape of the capsid morphology as a function of time spent in the aerosol phase. We found a previously unreported compact conformation as well as intermediate structures that suggest an incoherent buckling transition that does not preserve icosahedral symmetry. Finally, we propose a mechanism for this buckling, where a single 19-residue loop is destabilized, leading to the large observed morphological change. Our results provide experimental evidence for a mechanism by which viral capsids may protect themselves from dehydration upon aerosolization. In the process, these findings also demonstrate the power of single-particle X-ray imaging and machine learning methods in studying biomolecular structural dynamics.
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Jun 2026
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I19-Small Molecule Single Crystal Diffraction
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Komal
Rani
,
Anietie W.
Williams
,
Tarun
Kaushik
,
Daniel W.
Paley
,
Maggie C
Willson
,
Masha
Aleksich
,
Patience A.
Kotei
,
Mark R.
Warren
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Kerry
Gilmore
,
Aaron S.
Brewster
,
J. Nathan
Hohman
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[35300]
Open Access
Abstract: Metal-organic chalcogenolates (MOChas) are hybrid materials notable for excellent air and water stability and strong light-matter interactions. Tellurium-based MOChas have been limited to only a single example, tethrene (AgTePh). We modified a Grignard-based synthetic approach to prepare bis(4-methoxyphenyl) ditelluride and bis(3-methoxyphenyl) ditelluride, then prepared the corresponding MOChas. We used synchrotron serial crystallography at the Diamond Light Source, merging 90-degree sweeps from six selected microcrystals using "needle-in-a-haystack" approach to solve the crystal structure of AgTe-4M, revealing the tethrene-like 2-dimensional layered system. We also identified a bright red luminescent AgTe-3M derivative that is consistent with a 1-dimensional system. In parallel, we observed that elemental tellurium is a problematic contaminant that negatively impacts crystal morphology and yield when present during the synthesis. We demonstrate that inclusion of elemental tellurium is generally tolerated when <1% by weight.
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Apr 2026
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Mariya
Aleksich
,
Adriana J.
Ladera
,
Avery
Lamonica
,
Kara
Christensen
,
Daniel W.
Paley
,
David W.
Mittan-Moreau
,
Vanessa
Oklejas
,
Matthias
Zeller
,
Maggie C.
Willson
,
Patience A.
Kotei
,
Komal
Rani
,
Elyse A.
Schriber
,
Aria
Mansouri Tehrani
,
Mohammad
Vakili
,
Christopher J.
Milne
,
Joana
Valerio
,
Marco
Kloos
,
Doriana
Vinci
,
Adam
Round
,
Dmitry
Khakhulin
,
Fernando
Ardana-Lamas
,
Frederico
Lima
,
Yohei
Uemura
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Hazem
Yousef
,
Shigeki
Owada
,
Ichiro
Inoue
,
Kensuke
Tono
,
Nicholas K.
Sauter
,
Aaron S.
Brewster
,
Tess
Smidt
,
James N.
Hohman
Abstract: Metal–organic chalcogenolates (MOChas) are hybrid materials composed of metal-chalcogenide networks coordinated by organic ligands, offering a versatile platform for structural and electronic tunability. The use of molecular ligand design to steer material formation represents a powerful strategy for accessing new solid-state topologies. In this work, we report two new silver benzenethiolate MOChas incorporating protic meta-functionalized ligands─hydroxy (−OH) and amine (−NH2)─which exhibit hydrogen-bond-driven supramolecular organization and novel inorganic connectivities. Rather than modifying existing materials, we contextualize these compounds as distinct outcomes within a structural continuum. Silver para- and meta-methoxy-benzenethiolates (p-OCH3 and m-OCH3) serve as control points for known 2D and 1D topologies, respectively. The new materials, m-OH and m-NH2, were structurally characterized using small molecule serial femtosecond crystallography (smSFX), and their intermediate energetic and electronic properties were confirmed through density functional theory (DFT) calculations. We introduce the concept of supramolecular distortion to describe how ligand-driven intermolecular interactions reshape inorganic topology─not as deviations from a fixed state, but as distinct, kinetically accessible ground-state architectures. This work establishes a design paradigm linking organic ligand identity to predictable shifts in inorganic dimensionality in MOChas.
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Mar 2026
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Adam
Round
,
Pierre
Aller
,
Richard
Bean
,
Johan
Bielecki
,
Agata
Butryn
,
Nicholas E.
Devenish
,
Raphael
De Wijn
,
Thomas
Dietze
,
Katerina
Doerner
,
Fabio
Dall'Antonia
,
Gabriele
Giovanetti
,
Huijong
Han
,
Vincent
Hennicke
,
Chan
Kim
,
Yoonhee
Kim
,
Marco
Kloos
,
Jayanath C. P.
Koliyadu
,
Gabriel
Leen
,
Romain
Letrun
,
Luis
Lopez Morillo
,
Allen M.
Orville
,
Tim
Pakendorf
,
Marco
Ramilli
,
Nadja
Reimers
,
Patrick
Reinke
,
Juan
Sanchez-Weatherby
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Robin
Schubert
,
Joachim
Schulz
,
Cedric
Signe Takem
,
Marcin
Sikorski
,
Prasad
Thute
,
Fabian
Trost
,
Oleksii
Turkot
,
Patrik
Vagovic
,
Mohammad
Vakili
,
Raul
Villanueva Guerrero
,
Henry N.
Chapman
,
Alke
Meents
,
Serguei
Molodtsov
,
Sakura
Pascarelli
,
Thomas
Tschentschera
,
Adrian
Mancuso
,
Pontus
Fischer
,
Sebastian
Guenther
Open Access
Abstract: The Single-Particle, Clusters and Biomolecules and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SPB/SFX) scientific instrument at the European X-Ray Free-Electron Laser (EuXFEL) became operational with user experiments in September 2017. The unique properties and capabilities of the EuXFEL, enabling megahertz data collection rates, provide more rapid data collection with improved statistics compared with other XFEL facilities. This improves the feasibility of obtaining multiple data points in time-resolved experiments and hence enables the observation of reactions in greater detail (molecular movies). In collaboration with the SFX User Consortium (SFX UC), the SPB/SFX instrument was designed to further increase user access and research outcomes. Focusing the pulses downstream of the first interaction region [described previously (Mancuso et al., 2019)], a second experiment plane is enabled, which allows for greater optimization and more efficient usage of available beam time. Additionally, the SFX UC provided further instrumentation to provide improved capabilities on SPB/SFX. The aim for additional and extended functionality for the second interaction region was to enable sample-efficient data collection at atmospheric pressure in an environment where the sample temperature and humidity can be controlled. This paper describes the extended capabilities of the downstream interaction region of the SPB/SFX instrument and its major components, in particular its X-ray focusing optics, vacuum to atmospheric pressure out-coupling, available sample delivery methods and 2D detector, and the supporting optical laser systems for pump–probe experiments.
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Nov 2025
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Kang
Xiang
,
Ling
Qin
,
Shi
Huang
,
Hongyuan
Song
,
Vasilii
Bazhenov
,
Sarlota
Birnšteinová
,
Raphael
De Wijn
,
Jayanath C. P.
Koliyadu
,
Faisal H. M.
Koua
,
Adam
Round
,
Ekaterina
Round
,
Abhisakh
Sarma
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Marcin
Sikorski
,
Yuhe
Zhang
,
Eleni
Myrto Asimakopoulou
,
Pablo
Villanueva-Perez
,
Kyriakos
Porfyrakis
,
Iakovos
Tzanakis
,
Dmitry G.
Eskin
,
Nicole
Grobert
,
Adrian
Mancuso
,
Richard
Bean
,
Patrik
Vagovic
,
Jiawei
Mi
,
Valerio
Bellucci
Open Access
Abstract: Using megahertz x-ray free electron laser imaging with x-ray pulses of ~25 femtoseconds and a machine-learning strategy, we have conducted comprehensive in situ imaging studies on the dynamics of cavitation bubble clouds in ultrasound fields at the SPB/SFX beamline of the European XFEL. The research unambiguously revealed the quasi-simultaneous implosion of multiple bubbles and simultaneous collapse of bubble cloud in nanosecond scale and their dynamic impacts onto two-dimensional (2D) materials for layer exfoliation. We have also performed multiphysics modeling to simulate the shock wave emission, propagation, impact, and stresses produced. We elucidated the critical conditions for producing instant or fatigue exfoliation and the effects of bonding strengths and structural defects on the exfoliation rate. The discoveries have filled the long-standing missing knowledge gaps in the underlying physics of exfoliating 2D materials in ultrasound fields, providing a solid theoretical foundation for optimizing and scaling-up operation to produce 2D materials in a much more cost-effective and sustainable way.
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Nov 2025
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Soshichiro
Nagano
,
David
Von Stetten
,
Kaoling
Guan
,
Peng-Yuan
Chen
,
Chen
Song
,
Thomas
Barends
,
Manfred S.
Weiss
,
Christian G.
Feiler
,
Katerina
Dörner
,
Iñaki
De Diego Martinez
,
Robin
Schubert
,
Johan
Bielecki
,
Lea
Brings
,
Huijong
Han
,
Konstantin
Kharitonov
,
Chan
Kim
,
Marco
Kloos
,
Jayanath C. P.
Koliyadu
,
Faisal H. M.
Koua
,
Ekaterina
Round
,
Abhisakh
Sarma
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Christina
Schmidt
,
Joana
Valerio
,
Agnieszka
Wrona
,
Joachim
Schulz
,
Raphael
De Wijn
,
Romain
Letrun
,
Richard
Bean
,
Adrian
Mancuso
,
Karsten
Heyne
,
Jon
Hughes
Open Access
Abstract: Phytochromes are biliprotein photoreceptors widespread amongst microorganisms and ubiquitous in plants where they control developmental processes as diverse as germination, stem elongation and floral induction through the photoconversion of inactive Pr to the Pfr signalling state. Here we report crystal structures of the chromophore-binding module of soybean phytochrome A, including ~2.2 Å XFEL structures of Pr and Pfr at ambient temperature and high resolution cryogenic structures of Pr. In the Pfr structure, the chromophore is exposed to the medium, the D-ring remaining α-facial following the likely clockwise photoflip. The chromophore shifts within its pocket, while its propionate side chains, their partners as well as three neighbouring tyrosines shift radically. Helices near the chromophore show substantial shifts that might represent components of the light signal. These changes reflect those in bacteriophytochromes despite their quite different signalling mechanisms, implying that fundamental aspects of phytochrome photoactivation have been repurposed for photoregulation in the eukaryotic plant.
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Jun 2025
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Jaydeep
Patel
,
Adam
Round
,
Raphael
De Wijn
,
Mohammad
Vakili
,
Gabriele
Giovanetti
,
Diogo Filipe Monrroy Vilan E
Melo
,
Juncheng
E
,
Marcin
Sikorski
,
Jayanth
Koliyadu
,
Faisal H. M.
Koua
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Adrian
Mancuso
,
Andrew
Peele
,
Brian
Abbey
Open Access
Abstract: Automated evaluation of optical microscopy images of liquid jets, commonly used for sample delivery at X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), enables real-time tracking of the jet position and liquid jet hit rates, defined here as the proportion of XFEL pulses intersecting with the liquid jet. This method utilizes machine vision for preprocessing, feature extraction, segmentation and jet detection as well as tracking to extract key physical characteristics (such as the jet angle) from optical microscopy images captured during experiments. To determine the effectiveness of these tools in monitoring jet stability and enhancing sample delivery efficiency, we conducted XFEL experiments with various sample compositions (pure water, buffer and buffer with crystals), nozzle designs and jetting conditions. We integrated our real-time analysis algorithm into the Karabo control system at the European XFEL. The results indicate that the algorithm performs well in monitoring the jet angle and provides a quantitative characterization of liquid jet stability through optical image analysis conducted during experiments.
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Dec 2024
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I19-Small Molecule Single Crystal Diffraction
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Mariya
Aleksich
,
Yeongsu
Cho
,
Daniel W.
Paley
,
Maggie C.
Willson
,
Hawi N.
Nyiera
,
Patience A.
Kotei
,
Vanessa
Oklejas
,
David W.
Mittan-Moreau
,
Elyse A.
Schriber
,
Kara
Christensen
,
Ichiro
Inoue
,
Shigeki
Owada
,
Kensuke
Tono
,
Michihiro
Sugahara
,
Satomi
Inaba-Inoue
,
Mohammad
Vakili
,
Christopher J.
Milne
,
Fabio
Dallantonia
,
Dmitry
Khakhulin
,
Fernando
Ardana-Lamas
,
Frederico
Lima
,
Joana
Valerio
,
Huijong
Han
,
Tamires
Gallo
,
Hazem
Yousef
,
Oleksii
Turkot
,
Ivette J. Bermudez
Macias
,
Thomas
Kluyver
,
Philipp
Schmidt
,
Luca
Gelisio
,
Adam R.
Round
,
Yifeng
Jiang
,
Doriana
Vinci
,
Yohei
Uemura
,
Marco
Kloos
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Mark
Warren
,
Nicholas K.
Sauter
,
Jing
Zhao
,
Tess
Smidt
,
Heather J.
Kulik
,
Sahar
Sharifzadeh
,
Aaron S.
Brewster
,
J. Nathan
Hohman
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[35300]
Abstract: X-ray free electron laser (XFEL) microcrystallography and synchrotron single-crystal crystallography are used to evaluate the role of organic substituent position on the optoelectronic properties of metal–organic chalcogenolates (MOChas). MOChas are crystalline 1D and 2D semiconducting hybrid materials that have varying optoelectronic properties depending on composition, topology, and structure. While MOChas have attracted much interest, small crystal sizes impede routine crystal structure determination. A series of constitutional isomers where the aryl thiol is functionalized by either methoxy or methyl ester are solved by small molecule serial femtosecond X-ray crystallography (smSFX) and single crystal rotational crystallography. While all the methoxy examples have a low quantum yield (0-1%), the methyl ester in the ortho position yields a high quantum yield of 22%. The proximity of the oxygen atoms to the silver inorganic core correlates to a considerable enhancement of quantum yield. Four crystal structures are solved at a resolution range of 0.8–1.0 Å revealing a collapse of the 2D topology for functional groups in the 2- and 3- positions, resulting in needle-like crystals. Further analysis using density functional theory (DFT) and many-body perturbation theory (MBPT) enables the exploration of complex excitonic phenomena within easily prepared material systems.
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Dec 2024
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Jayanath C. P.
Koliyadu
,
Daniel
Moško
,
Eleni Myrto
Asimakopoulou
,
Valerio
Bellucci
,
Šarlota
Birnšteinová
,
Richard
Bean
,
Romain
Letrun
,
Chan
Kim
,
Henry
Kirkwood
,
Gabriele
Giovanetti
,
Nerea
Jardon
,
Janusz
Szuba
,
Trey
Guest
,
Andreas
Koch
,
Jan
Grünert
,
Peter
Szeles
,
Pablo
Villanueva-Perez
,
Fabian
Reuter
,
Claus-Dieter
Ohl
,
Mike Andreas
Noack
,
Francisco
Garcia-Moreno
,
Zuzana
Kuglerová-Valdová
,
Libor
Juha
,
Martin
Nikl
,
Wataru
Yashiro
,
Hitoshi
Soyama
,
Daniel
Eakins
,
Alexander M.
Korsunsky
,
Jozef
Ulicny
,
Alke
Meents
,
Henry N.
Chapman
,
Adrian P.
Mancuso
,
Tokushi
Sato
,
Patrik
Vagovic
Open Access
Abstract: We report on recent developments that enable megahertz hard X-ray phase contrast imaging (MHz XPCI) experiments at the Single Particles, Clusters, and Biomolecules and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SPB/SFX) instrument of the European XFEL facility (EuXFEL). We describe the technical implementation of the key components, including an MHz fast camera and a modular indirect X-ray microscope system based on fast scintillators coupled through a high-resolution optical microscope, which enable full-field X-ray microscopy with phase contrast of fast and irreversible phenomena. The image quality for MHz XPCI data showed significant improvement compared with a pilot demonstration of the technique using parallel beam illumination, which also allows access to up to 24 keV photon energies at the SPB/SFX instrument of the EuXFEL. With these developments, MHz XPCI was implemented as a new method offered for a broad user community (academic and industrial) and is accessible via standard user proposals. Furthermore, intra-train pulse diagnostics with a high few-micrometre spatial resolution and recording up to 128 images of consecutive pulses in a train at up to 1.1 MHz repetition rate is available upstream of the instrument. Together with the diagnostic camera upstream of the instrument and the MHz XPCI setup at the SPB/SFX instrument, simultaneous two-plane measurements for future beam studies and feedback for machine parameter tuning are now possible.
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Nov 2024
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