Origin and temperature dependence of radiation damage in biological samples at cryogenic temperatures.

ABSTRACT: Radiation damage is the major impediment for obtaining structural information from biological samples by using ionizing radiation such as x-rays or electrons. The knowledge of underlying processes especially at cryogenic temperatures is still fragmentary, and a consistent mechanism has not been found yet. By using a combination of single-crystal x-ray diffraction, small-angle scattering, and qualitative and quantitative radiolysis experiments, we show that hydrogen gas, formed inside the sample during irradiation, rather than intramolecular bond cleavage between non-hydrogen atoms, is mainly responsible for the loss of high-resolution information and contrast in diffraction experiments and microscopy. The experiments that are presented in this paper cover a temperature range between 5 and

SUBMITTER: Meents A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2798883 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature