THE PROTEIN CRYSTALLOGRAPHY BEAMLINE AT LNLS, THE BRAZILIAN NATIONAL SYNCHROTRON LIGHT-SOURCE

The Brazilian National Synchrotron Light Laboratory - LNLS, will have a dedicated protein crystallography beamline. The beamline under const ruction includes cylindrical mirror and bent crystal monochromator foc using the high flux of synchrotron radiation in the horizontal plane a t the position of the sample. The monochromatic radiation will be tune able between 2.0 and 1.0 Angstrom with the optimum wavelength at 1.3-1 .6 Angstrom, chosen with the aim of maximizing the photon flux from th e bending magnets of the storage ring (1.37 GeV). Diffraction images w ill be recorded on a commercial image plate detector system with on-li ne readout. The beamline set-up will include cooler/chiller for the sa mples and biochemical lab for crystallization, heavy-metal soaks, crys tal storage and mounting at 22 degrees C and 4 degrees C, will also be available. The facility, intended to serve the national and internati onal community, is planned to be brought into operation in the second half of 1997. It is foreseen that the commissioning of the first prote in crystallography beamline in Latin America will boost the number of protein structures determined locally and will increase the general in terest of the molecular biology and biochemical research community of Brazil in this area. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserve d.