B21-High Throughput SAXS
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Lucrezia
Caselli
,
Marta
Rojas-Rodríguez
,
Valentina
Pacciani
,
Martino
Calamai
,
Roberto
Frigerio
,
Andrea
Zendrini
,
Gennaro
Sanità
,
Emanuela
Esposito
,
Anna
Leung
,
Hanna
Wacklin-Knecht
,
Ben
Humphreys
,
Paolo
Arosio
,
Jacopo
Cardellini
,
Debora
Berti
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[43918]
Open Access
Abstract: Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) are central to nanomedicine, yet their clinical translation is limited by the difficulty of predicting structure-bioactivity relationships. Although the biomolecular corona is known to define the nanoparticle biological identity by modifying surface properties, its effect on internal nanoparticle organization remains largely unexplored. Since the internal lipid organization of LNPs governs key properties, including stability, cargo protection, internalization and intracellular trafficking, understanding this coupling is critical to correlate synthetic design to therapeutic outcome. Here, combining structural and mechanistic evidence, we show that plasma lipoproteins engage in molecular-scale lipid exchange with the LCNP membrane, rather than persisting as an adsorbed layer of intact particles, actively remodeling the internal nanoparticle structure. Using model lipid liquid-crystalline nanoparticles with well-defined cubic and inverse hexagonal phases, we systematically investigate how lipoproteins modulate LNP structure. Combining fluorescence nanoparticle tracking, synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering, cryo-electron microscopy, and neutron reflectometry with isotopic contrast matching, we provide evidence of lipoprotein-driven lipid transfer and phase reorganization at the nanoscale. We observe a phase-selective response: inverse hexagonal LNPs remain structurally stable despite lipid exchange, whereas cubic LNPs undergo pronounced remodeling, including significant change in size and lattice ordering. These transformations correlate with distinct cellular uptake profiles. Our findings suggest that in soft lipid nanoparticles, the biological identity commonly described as a biomolecular corona is not merely a surface event but an interface-mediated process that reshapes the nanoparticle internal structure, with direct implications for next-generation nanomedicine design.
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Sep 2026
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B21-High Throughput SAXS
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[36130]
Open Access
Abstract: Nakaseomyces glabratus is an opportunistic pathogen of humans, causing invasive candidiasis (IC). Among the risk factors that favor IC are various host-specific factors. Although drugs are available to treat candidiasis, their clinical application remains limited. Therefore, it is necessary to identify therapeutic targets that will enable the development of new antifungals. In this regard, our research group has identified enzymes as potential therapeutic targets in N. glabratus, including fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase (Fba1) and pyruvate kinase (Pk). Enzyme activity studies on these two enzymes have shown that they are important therapeutic targets against this pathogen. However, their three-dimensional structure has not yet been elucidated, an essential requirement for designating an enzyme as a therapeutic target. To propose Fba1 and Pk of N. glabratus as potential therapeutic targets, we investigated the solution structure and oligomeric state of N. glabratus Fba1 and Pk for the first time by combining Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS) with AlphaFold3 modeling. SAXS data were collected on the B21 beamline at Diamond Light Source (Didcot, UK), providing solution-scattering profiles, molecular-weight estimates, and low-resolution molecular envelopes. These data indicate that Pk is monomeric and Fba1 homodimeric in solution were used to evaluate and refine the corresponding AlphaFold3 atomic models by molecular dynamics. These structural findings for Fba1 and Pk from N. glabratus open the door to understanding these enzymes as potential therapeutic targets against this pathogen and, at the same time, a basis for future comparative studies.
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Sep 2026
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B21-High Throughput SAXS
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Giuseppe Junior
Mosca
,
Simone
Russo
,
Valentina
Pelliccioli
,
Martina
Quaglia
,
Pietro
Pettinari
,
Alessandro
Cangiano
,
Diego
Colombo
,
Paola
Perego
,
Giovanni L.
Beretta
,
Laura
Morelli
,
Giuseppe
Vitiello
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[34244]
Open Access
Abstract: Colloidal quantum dots (QDs) represent a versatile class of luminescent nanomaterials whose physicochemical and interfacial properties can be engineered for advanced bio-related applications. Herein, the wet-precipitation synthesis and surface engineering of ultra-small fluorine-doped ZnO quantum dots (F/ZnO QDs) were proposed and their formulation into stable amphiphilic nanosystems using synthetic glycoglycerolipids. To control aggregation and interfacial behavior, the QDs were first capped with oleylamine and subsequently functionalized through an emulsion-based approach with mono-acyl or di-acyl glycoglycerolipids, yielding double-coated amphiphilic nanoformulations. The resulting materials were extensively characterized by TEM, DLS, zeta-potential measurements, XRD, FTIR/ATR, UV–Vis, and fluorescence spectroscopy, allowing to explore correlations between surface chemistry, colloidal stability, and optical properties. Glycoglycerolipid functionalization led to a marked improvement in aqueous dispersibility and long-term colloidal stability while preserving the enhanced fluorescence induced by fluorine doping. Biological assays confirmed the cytocompatibility of the coated QDs and supported their suitability for further biointerface studies. This work highlights glycoglycerolipid-based amphiphilic coatings as an effective strategy to tailor the surface and colloidal properties of ZnO-based QDs, enabling the development of stable luminescent nanomaterials as biocompatible nanoprobes and for bio-interfacial applications.
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Aug 2026
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B21-High Throughput SAXS
I04-1-Macromolecular Crystallography (fixed wavelength)
I04-Macromolecular Crystallography
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Open Access
Abstract: C-type lectins (CTLs) play key roles in immunity and microbial carbohydrate recognition. In the vector-mosquito Aedes aegypti, the C-type lectin domain-single (CTLD-S) family comprises 34 soluble CTLs whose members are implicated in flavivirus dissemination and microbial homeostasis, yet their organization remains uncharacterized. We combine X-ray crystallography, small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), molecular dynamics, and machine learning-based structure prediction to characterize CTLs in Aedes aegypti. We determined the crystal structures of four representative CTLD-S proteins: mosGCTL-1, -3, -6, and -20. All crystals featured an identical homodimer arrangement, positioning both carbohydrate-binding sites on the same molecular face. Dimerization was confirmed in solution and AlphaFold predictions across the entire family indicated that dimer formation may be a unifying feature of CTLD-S proteins. For one mosGCTL structure, paucimannose glycans bound at a Ca2+-dependent site, demonstrating bidentate binding through one dimer. Machine learning-based predictions indicated hundreds of possible CTLD-S heterodimers may be viable, with wide-ranging implications for preferred glycan binding through one dimer. Our findings reveal a conserved dimeric arrangement among mosquito lectins that may underpin ligand recognition relevant to vector–pathogen interactions.
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Aug 2026
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I22-Small angle scattering & Diffraction
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[29045]
Open Access
Abstract: We report a new 3D-ordered liquid-crystal (LC) phase where alkyl and fluoroalkyl side-chains are confined within separate stretched octahedral cages of a tetragonal framework with struts of aromatic rods held together by their hydrogen-bonded ends acting as flexible hinges. This is the first example of a multicolor micellar LC heralding the development of soft and dynamic dual-compartment frameworks, also capable of a martensitic-type phase transition.
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Aug 2026
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I07-Surface & interface diffraction
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Qichun
Gu
,
Tianjun
Liu
,
Yucheng
Xu
,
Xinjuan
Li
,
Yunzhou
Deng
,
Yang
Lu
,
Youcheng
Zhang
,
Zimu
Wei
,
Xinyu
Bai
,
Capucine
Mamak
,
Yutong
Han
,
Alessandro J.
Mirabelli
,
Weidong
Xu
,
Jian
Mao
,
Caterina
Ducati
,
Henning
Sirringhaus
,
Samuel D.
Stranks
,
Miguel
Anaya
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[32266]
Open Access
Abstract: Perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) are promising low-cost, solution-processable, and color-pure optoelectronic devices for display and lighting applications. However, blue PeLEDs continue to lag their green and red counterparts in terms of luminance and operational lifetime, limiting their practical implementation. The performance disparity primarily arises from charge injection imbalance, which accelerates degradation at the perovskite/hole transport layer (HTL) interface under electrical bias. Here, we design a polymer blend HTL comprising poly(N-vinyl-2,7-difluoro-carbazole) (PVK-F) and poly(bis(4-phenyl)(2,4,6-trimethylphenyl)amine) (PTAA), in which strengthened van der Waals interactions promote denser molecular packing. This optimized microstructure simultaneously enhances hole mobility and wettability, enabling high-quality perovskite film formation. Consequently, PeLEDs emitting at 485 nanometers achieve an external quantum efficiency of 24.1% and luminance exceeding 26,000 candela per square meter. Moreover, the improved hole injection mitigates interfacial degradation, yielding an operational half-lifetime exceeding 700 minutes at an initial luminance of 100 candela per square meter. This work establishes polymer blending as an effective strategy for advancing the performance and stability of blue PeLEDs.
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Aug 2026
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I21-Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering (RIXS)
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Xiaoyang
Chen
,
Wenliang
Zhang
,
Fei
Peng
,
Ting
Cui
,
Guangdi
Zhou
,
Zezhong
Li
,
Jaewon
Choi
,
Lizhi
Xu
,
Yiu-Fung
Chiu
,
Stefano
Agrestini
,
Sahil
Tippireddy
,
Haoliang
Huang
,
Heng
Wang
,
Xianfeng
Wu
,
Peng
Li
,
Jin-Feng
Jia
,
Mirian
Garcia-Fernandez
,
Yi
Lu
,
Er-Jia
Guo
,
Qi-Kun
Xue
,
Zhuoyu
Chen
,
Donglai
Feng
,
Ke-Jin
Zhou
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[42637]
Open Access
Abstract: The recent discovery of Ruddlesden-Popper (RP) nickelate thin-film superconductors has opened a new frontier in unconventional superconductivity. Its realization requires both compressive epitaxial strain and highly oxidative growth conditions, yet the microscopic pathway from the parent phase to the superconducting phase remains elusive. Here, X-ray absorption spectra and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering are employed to track this evolution by independently tuning strain and oxygen content in (La,Pr)3Ni2O7 − δ thin films. We uncover a remarkable two-step narrative. First, signatures of delocalization emerge: Spectral weight transfers from a “Upper Hubbard”-like peak to the hole-like peak associated with O 2pz state, and in parallel, the initially localized Ni
orbital becomes more itinerant followed by the broadening and weakening of dd orbital excitations. Second, as itinerancy increases, long-range spin-density-wave (SDW) order is suppressed in both intensity and correlation length, indicating direct competition with superconductivity. Yet, short-range magnons persist: they become damped but their bandwidth stays unchanged. Our results paint a coherent picture that both strain and oxygenation drive the RP bilayer nickelates towards the superconducting instability, where the O 2pz and Ni
orbitals become delocalized. Concomitantly, the long-range magnetic order loses coherence and gets suppressed. These findings establish an orbital-selective route to RP nickelate superconductivity, in which the emergence and progressive delocalization of the interlayer
-2pz-
channel and the robust short-range magnons upon the melting of SDW order are prerequisites, providing strong constraints for theory and the roadmap for designing nickelate superconductors.
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Aug 2026
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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism - scattering
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Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[8703, 9117, 9595]
Open Access
Abstract: Magnetic skyrmions are spin textures with nontrivial topology that form two-dimensional hexagonal lattices (SkX) in chiral magnets. Element-specific reciprocal-space characterization of skyrmion lattices with soft x-rays commonly relies on transmission geometries, which require thinning of bulk crystals and can modify their magnetic properties. Here, we show that resonant elastic x-ray scattering in a grazing-incidence geometry (GIREXS) provides a nondestructive and geometrically flexible probe of skyrmion lattices in bulk materials. Using MnSi as a model system, GIREXS resolves the helical, conical, and skyrmion-lattice states through their characteristic magnetic satellite peaks and yields the skyrmion wave vector. By operating just above the critical angle (𝛼c≈1.6° in MnSi at the Mn 𝐿3 edge), the method achieves a probing depth of approximately 3 nm, tunable up to approximately 20 nm via the incidence angle, while maintaining full reciprocal-space access to the in-plane magnetic correlations. The grazing-incidence approach circumvents the structural Bragg-peak constraints that limit conventional reflection resonant elastic x-ray scattering (REXS) at fixed soft-x-ray energies. Our measurements establish GIREXS as a practical method for studying magnetic superstructures in bulk crystals, providing direct reciprocal-space access to magnetic satellite reflections and a basis for future depth-controlled, element-selective investigations of complex spin textures.
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Aug 2026
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I10-Beamline for Advanced Dichroism - scattering
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Moritz
Winter
,
A.
Pignedoli
,
M. C.
Rahn
,
A. S.
Sukhanov
,
B.
Achinuq
,
J. R.
Bollard
,
M.
Azhar
,
K.
Everschor-Sitte
,
D.
Pohl
,
S.
Schneider
,
A.
Tahn
,
V.
Ukleev
,
M.
Valvidares
,
A.
Thomas
,
D.
Wolf
,
P.
Vir
,
T.
Helm
,
G.
Van Der Laan
,
T.
Hesjedal
,
J.
Geck
,
C.
Felser
,
B.
Rellinghaus
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[28882]
Open Access
Abstract: Chiral soliton lattices (CSLs) emerge from the competition between Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction, anisotropy, and magnetic fields. While well established in monoaxial helimagnets, their role in materials with anisotropic, direction-dependent chirality remains poorly understood. Here, we report the direct observation of a crossover from π to 2π soliton lattices in the non-centrosymmetric Heusler compound Mn1.4PtSn. Combining Lorentz transmission electron microscopy, resonant elastic X-ray scattering, and micromagnetic simulations, we identify a π-CSL as the magnetic ground state—rather than the expected spiral phase—which evolves into a classical 2π-CSL under increasing out-of-plane fields. This transition is governed by an interplay between uniaxial magnetocrystalline anisotropy and magnetostatic interactions, qualitatively captured by a double sine-Gordon model. Our framework extends to materials with D2d, S4, Cnv, or Cn symmetries in the thin-film limit, providing a unifying route to engineer magnetic phase diagrams in chiral systems with implications for soliton-based spintronics and topological transport.
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Aug 2026
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I22-Small angle scattering & Diffraction
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Keenan
Smith
,
Antonela
Gallastegui
,
Zixuan
Yu
,
Yuliana
Pairetti
,
Andrew
Seel
,
Jacques
Ollivier
,
Victoria
Garcia Sakai
,
Bob C.
Schroeder
,
Maria
Forsyth
,
Aurelie
Gueguen
,
David
Mecerreyes
,
Fabrizia
Foglia
Diamond Proposal Number(s):
[36252]
Open Access
Abstract: Polymer electrolyte membranes composed of ionic liquids (IL), capable of conducting protons efficiently at elevated temperatures, without external humidification, could transform fuel cell technology. However, the molecular origins of such proton transport remain poorly understood, especially in the polymerized state. Here, we directly visualize a hierarchy of coupled elementary proton motion steps spanning picosecond to nanosecond timescales in polyIL membranes using pulse field gradient (PFG) NMR and multi-resolution quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS). Polymer dynamics comprise three-site jumps within methanesulfonate coordination shells, two-site hops along hydrogen-bond chains, and out-of-plane backbone flips which dynamically reconfigure the proton transfer pathway. The latter facilitates a correlated polymer-proton hopping mechanism above 60°C enabling rapid nano- and microscale proton transport at operational temperatures. Even trace water plasticizes the polymer and remarkably lowers this proton hopping barrier by nearly half. A critical transition occurs near 245 K, where water forms a continuous hydrogen-bonded network of acid-base pairs, enabling sub-10 ps Grotthuss proton hopping, approaching liquid water dynamics. This molecular-level understanding provides fundamental insight into polyIL conduction mechanisms and the long-standing question of how solid polymers achieve liquid-like proton mobility, providing a roadmap for polyILs in next-generation electrochemical energy technologies.
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Aug 2026
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