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Learn Beamline Guides ALS 8.3.1

BEAMLINE GUIDE
ALS 8.3.1

The Advanced Light Source
Berkeley, CA
“Cool Hand” Luke Automounter

The Berkeley Center for Structural Biology (BCSB) is a national user facility operating under the aegis of LBNL’s Physical Biosciences Division at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. An umbrella organization, the BCSB operates five protein crystallography beamlines at the Advanced Light Source (ALS). In June of 1998, BCSB staff welcomed the first research teams to Beamline 5.0.2; Beamline 5.0.1 came online in 1999, followed by Beamline 5.0.3 in 2000. Beamlines 8.2.1 and 8.2.2 began operation in 2003. While not formally a part of BCSB, Beamline 8.3.1 has been coordinating though the Center via the ALS-ENABLE.

Since inception the BCSB has represented an unusual partnership among industrial, academic, national laboratory, and non-profit researchers. These five beamlines have been uncommonly productive when considered across the metrics of publication record, number of solved structures, and scientific merit and significance of work.1

Automated Systems at 8.3.1:

“Cool Hand Luke” robot accepts all major pin types and lengths (10-24 mm) and supports “delayed data collection mode” where data collection runs are deferred to the end of the shift. This robot does not work directly with cassettes because hand-mounting of samples in the mini-hutch is faster than any robot.2

Additionally, 8.3.1 fully supports remote operation/ unattended data collection. During this process, software centers the loop, raster-finds the crystal, and collects a standard data set.

Contacts

James Holton

George Meigs

Jane Tanamachi

Scott Classen

Other Links

Tools

We recommend the following tools for their compatibility and ease-of-use.

Recommended Accepted*
Puck Style Any All
Mount/Loop Style MicroMounts™ & MicroLoops™ LD Any
Rod Length 18mm/Any All
Base Style Reusable All
*Beamline 8.3.1

Sample Preparation Kits

Convenient kits of compatible assemblies of MiTeGen recommended products

Beamline Sample Preparation Kits are available in 3 aperture size assortments based on your crystal sizes and include:

  • Assemblies of 100 Crystal Mounts, on 18 mm pins, available in the following assortment:
    • 20 x Dual-Thickness MicroLoops ™ LD  (5 each of 10, 20, 30 and 50 μm aperture sizes)
    • 40 x Dual-Thickness MicroMount ™ (10 each of 75, 100, 150 and 200 μm aperture sizes)
    • 20 x Dual-Thickness MicroLoops ™  (5 each of 300, 400, 500 and 600 μm aperture sizes)
    • 20 x MicroMeshes ™  (5 each of 10, 25, 50 and 25L μm aperture sizes)
  • Installed in 100 B5-R reusable bases or 100 regular bases
  • Packaged and stored in 5 MiTeGen base holders

Uni-puck Starter Kit 2 includes:

  • (7) Universal V-1 Pucks
  • (1) Double Puck Loading Dewar with Lid
  • (1) Puck Wand
  • (1) Puck Dewar Loading Tool
  • (1) Puck Separator Tools
  • (1) Shelved Puck Shipping Cane
  • (1) Bent Cryo-Tong
  • (1) Cryo Express Dry Shipper (CX100)
  • (1) Shipping case for CX100

*custom kits are available, contact MiTeGen with specific requests.

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