Small Crystals, Big Insights: How Electron Diffraction is Transforming Materials, Life Science, and Chemistry Research #3. Simple Electron Diffraction Workflow from Sample Prep to Structural Solutions

Ever wondered how much time and expertise is required to perform ED analysis, from sample preparation to structural solution?

While electron diffraction has opened new possibilities for structural characterization of crystalline powders across many scientific disciplines, it has traditionally required expertise in both crystallography and electron microscopy to generate meaningful data. The development of automated workflows has transformed the field—not only by enhancing accessibility, but also by increasing sample throughput and enabling new types of experiments.

In this session, we will walk through the complete electron diffraction process, including sample preparation, data collection, and structural analysis. We will explore how integrated hardware and software in a dedicated diffractometer streamline workflows, enhancing the efficiency of single-crystal structural solutions and making bulk powder analysis by ED a practical approach.

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Download: Simple Electron Diffraction Workflow from Sample Prep to Structural Solutions PowerPoint slides

• Mixtures solved by microED:  Karothu, D. P. et al. The Elusive Structure of Levocetirizine Dihydrochloride Determined by Electron Diffraction. Angew Chem Int Ed (2023) https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202303761
  
  
• Textbook including electron diffraction:  Spence, J. C. H. (2006). High-resolution electron microscopy for materials science. 
  
  
• Palatinus, L. et al. Structure refinement using precession electron diffraction tomography dynamical diffraction: theory and implementation. Acta Cryst. (2015). http://scripts.iucr.org/cgi-bin/paper?S2053273315001266
  
  
• Brázda, P. et al. Electron diffraction determines the molecular absolute configuration in a pharmaceutical nanocrystal. Science (2019). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw2560 
  
  
• Klar Dedicated electron diffractometer:  Ito, S. et al. Structure determination of small molecule compounds by an electron diffractometer for 3D ED/MicroED. CrystEngComm (2023) https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CE01172C
  
  
• P. B. et al. Accurate structure models and absolute configuration determination using dynamical effects in continuous-rotation 3D electron diffraction data. Nat. Chem. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-023-01186-1
  
  
• Truong, K.-N. et al. Making the Most of 3D Electron Diffraction: Best Practices to Handle a New Tool. Symmetry (2023). https://doi.org/10.3390/sym15081555
  
  
• Dedicated electron diffractometer:  Ito, S. et al. Structure determination of small molecule compounds by an electron diffractometer for 3D ED/MicroED. CrystEngComm (2023) https://doi.org/10.1039/D1CE01172C 
  
  
• Rigaku Publication Library: https://rigaku.com/resources/publication-library 
  
  
• Review of structures solved by the XtaLAB Synergy-ED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgR8TatjdhU 
  
  
• Review of sample preparation for microED: Nicolas, W. J., et al Comprehensive microcrystal electron diffraction sample preparation for cryo-EM. Nat. Protoc. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-024-01088-7