This month, we celebrate MOF pioneers winning the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and the launch of the IUCr2026 website. Plus, explore Synergy automation tools, new reagents, and this month’s Ig Nobel highlights.
This month, the big news is up for debate: Is it that three pioneers of metal–organic frameworks—Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar M. Yaghi—won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, or that the IUCr2026 website is now live?
Fraser covers the automation tools available for data collection with the Synergy product line and shares highlights from the recent Single Crystal User Meeting held at Rigaku Europe. Rigaku Reagents, meanwhile, launches the new C3-1 screen from CSIRO. Jakub explains how to generate unit cell standard deviations in CrysAlisPro using the Monte Carlo Simulation tool.
Last month’s Ig Nobel Prizes were awarded in September; don’t miss the full ceremony, featured as our video of the month. And for a change of pace, Jeanette reviews The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne by Chris Sweeney.
Our LinkedIn groupshares information and fosters discussion about X-ray crystallography and SAXS topics. Connect with other research groups and receive updates on how they use these techniques in their own laboratories. You can also catch up on the latest newsletter or Rigaku Journal issue. We also hope that you will share information about your own research and laboratory groups.
Atrigakuxrayforum.comyou can find discussions about software, general crystallography issues and more. It’s also the place to download the latest version of Rigaku Oxford Diffraction’sCrysAlisProsoftware for single crystal data processing.
IUCr2026: Where Global Science Meets the Canadian Rockies
From August 11–18, 2026, Calgary will host the 27th Congress and General Assembly of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr2026), bringing together crystallographers, structural scientists, and emerging researchers from around the world. With thousands of participants expected, the Congress offers a vital platform to present cutting-edge research, engage with global peers, and advance the future of structural science.
Registrationand Abstractsubmissions are now open, and our full list ofmicrosymposiais live, so you can start planning your trip and presentation today!
To support your travel, WestJetis offering discounted airfare for IUCr2026 attendees, use coupon code 8O1L1CE when booking.
Follow us for updates and explore everythingIUCr2026 has to offer!
Rigaku Single Crystal User Meeting 2025
The 2025 Single Crystal User Meeting gathered crystallographers from across Europe at Rigaku Europe’s headquarters in Neu-Isenburg on October 7-8. The annual event is one of our most valued opportunities to connect directly with users—hearing how our instruments are applied in the lab, what challenges researchers face, and how we can improve together.
This year’s meeting opened with Mathias Meyer, as is tradition, with his overview of the many developments in our products over the last year. Emilia Buchsteiner, was next and highlighted the growing impact and publication record of the XtaLAB Synergy-ED. More than one hundred peer-reviewed papers have now been published using XtaLAB Synergy-ED data, cementing its reputation as a reliable source of high-quality data. Automation then took center stage as Thomas Fellowes presented his work at the University of Liverpool in developing an infrastructure to coordinate different unrelated instruments in a fully automated workflow. Alexandra Longcake formerly of Newcastle University, now also at the University of Liverpool (congratulations Alex!!), described in situ diffraction workflows developed around the XtalCheck-S and the ENaCt method. Their use of thin glass on 3D printed supports for solvent resistant 96-well screening is an interesting innovation.
After coffee, Robert Bücker presented our latest advances in high-throughput electron diffraction, and Daniel Rainer (National Electron Diffraction Facility) introduced his new programs CIVET and ZEDD, initially developed to overcome some of the issues he experienced when validating 3DED cifs and storing data. The interest was clearly there from the broader community, too.
To finish off the first day, Matic Lozinšek (Jožef Stefan Institute) spoke on combined X-ray, electron and synchrotron diffraction studies used to solve very old problems—structures that have been theorized but unknown for decades until now.
Horst Puschmann (OlexSys Ltd.) kicked off Day 2 with another regular favorite of the user meeting, the Olex2 presentation, which spilled over its allotted time due to the level of interest from the audience. Florian Kleemiß (RWTH Aachen) presented a very interesting application of the NoSpherA2 approach for spin-state determination in spin crossover complexes. Farzaneh Fadaei Tirani (EPFL) debated the merits of rotating-anode systems and their impact in her lab, and Josefina Perles Hernáez (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid) asked the provocative question, “Could we solve more crystal structures?” before telling her story about how service crystallography works in her lab, before and since acquiring a new rotating anode.
The final session to close the meeting was shared among Rigaku’s applications team—Christian Schürmann, Jakub Wojciechowski, and Khai-Nghi Truong—and offered practical advice on getting the best from CrysAlisPro, highlighted PhotonJetMAX-S performance, and shared our latest products that make everyday lab work easier.
While the user meeting is structured around presentations, the breaks are just as important. I was reminded of this by several users who specifically mentioned this as a highlight of the meeting for them as they were able to meet other users and form new collaborations and friendships.
We are grateful to all of our presenters who made the meeting so valuable for everyone, especially those from our user community, and we hope you all got as much out of the meeting as we did. If you missed it, you can watch the recordings on our user forum.
We hope to see you in-person next year!
Product of the Month
Rigaku Single Crystal Automation Products for Enabling Unattended Crystallography Workflows
Overview:
The heart of Rigaku Oxford Diffraction’s automation pipeline is CrysAlisPro, which offers simple and intuitive setup of experiment queues either with individually mounted samples loaded via a robotic sample chamber or multiple samples on plates such as SBS-format 96-well plates with the XtalCheck-S. Our platform represents a fully integrated, scalable ecosystem for automating crystallographic screening and data collection in the home lab. By combining advanced robotic sample handling, motorized goniometer heads, intelligent software scheduling, and in situ plate screening, Rigaku automation solutions accelerate crystal-to-structure times—increasing throughput and reducing hands-on time, offering you an unattended lab-assistant capable of working 24/7 without interruption.
Our automation portfolio includes:
ACTOR 2: the next-generation robotic sample changer for handling the largest volume of samples on our XtaLAB SynergyCustom instruments
XtaLAB Synergy Flow: a robotic sample chamber fully integrated into the XtaLAB Synergy Cabinet with 24/7 uninterrupted operation possible through the innovative, X-ray safe cryogenic sample drawer
IGH2 / IGH3: motorized goniometer heads that underpin automated centering alongside powerful AI sample recognition and/or X-ray centering algorithms
XtalCheck-S: in situ plate screening for mass screening of in-situ samples
Each component is designed to interface seamlessly via the CrysAlisPro + CAP Robotics software layer, which abstracts the hardware to present a unified, intuitive workflow control layer.
The ACTOR 2 (Automated Crystal Transport, Orientation and Retrieval) robot is a mature and trusted solution for automating crystal mounting and demounting in both home labs and beamlines.
Key features include:
A 6-axis UR5e robotic arm, providing extended reach and flexibility within the diffractometer environment.
A cryogenic-tolerant gripper and refined end effector to minimize icing and preserve sample integrity.
High-capacity dewar support: up to 112 samples per dewar, and support for using up to three dewars in a single system.
Backward compatibility with original ACTOR infrastructure, enabling a seamless upgrade path without retooling existing lab setups.
Fully automated sample mounting, centering, and data collection under the control of CrysAlisPro + CAP Robotics.
ACTOR 2 integrates with our most powerful X-ray source the FR-X for reliable screening and data collection of even the weakest samples without user intervention once running.
The XtaLAB Synergy Flow provides a fully automated system with your choice of X-ray source, enabling high-throughput and hands-off data collection.
Core Automation Architecture
A 6-axis UR3 Universal Robot is integrated into the Synergy cabinet, for a safe, rapid transfer of sensitive samples to and from the goniometer while still frozen
The X-ray safe dewar-drawer system slides out of the side panel of the cabinet, allowing puck exchange without interrupting ongoing data collection or opening the X-ray enclosure.
The dewar holds up to 48 samples (3 UniPucks), and pucks can be added or removed during idle robot periods, maximizing instrument uptime.
Automated sample centering can be achieved in as little as 6 seconds using dual-camera optical centering via the integrated motorized goniometer head (IGH).
The CrysAlisPro + CAP Robotics module manages full job scheduling, robot control, sample queuing, ranking of crystals, and data collection orchestration.
Workflow Advantages
Because puck exchange is isolated from the X-ray environment, data collection need not be paused for sample loading/unloading.
Samples can be automatically ranked, sorted into “good” and “poor” pucks based on diffraction quality, and queued for further data collection or removal.
The system supports minimal human contact workflows, useful in environments with contamination concerns or restricted access.
By combining the strengths of advanced robotic sample handling with the performance of Synergy diffractometers, XtaLAB Synergy Flow elevates home-lab throughput and reliability.
IGH2 and IGH3: Motorized Goniometer Heads for Smart Centering
The Intelligent Goniometer Head (IGH) series is a key enabling technology for automated centering and alignment, tightly coupled with CrysAlisPro’s optics and image-analysis algorithms.
The IGH2 is a compact, detachable motorized goniometer head compatible with common mounting standards (SPINE, ALS).
It works in concert with CrysAlisPro to enable automatic centering, including loop centering and crystal targeting, with point-and-click override when needed.
More recently, IGH3 is designed as part of Rigaku’s UG3 universal goniometer, offering a smaller profile and enabling a cable-free design for safer, more compact operation.
IGH3 supports hands-free sample centering with modes including X-ray signal optimization, AI-powered optical sample recognition, or point-and-click methods—all fully software controlled.
As the UG3 goniometer and IGH3 are tightly integrated, the system benefits from reduced collision risk, wider scanning ranges, improved data collection efficiency, and no trailing cables.
Both IGH2 and IGH3 enable automatic sample centering via point and click, optical AI sample recognition, or X-ray intensity-based methods. These are essential for systems with a robotic sample changer but are equally useful for novice crystallographers or those seeking a safer ‘hands-free’ centering option.
The XtalCheck-S (XtalCheck-S) system provides an elegant solution for in situ X-ray screening by mounting an x,y,z stage onto the goniometer, enabling diffraction analysis directly from standard 96-well SBS crystallization plates.
Key capabilities:
Visual imaging and diffraction mapping of crystals or powder samples directly in drop wells, eliminating the need for loop transfer or cryoprotection.
One-handed plate insertion and removal with its spring clip plate retainer
Queued screening of multiple objects per well, with fully automated diffraction data collection under CrysAlisPro control.
The system operates identically to standard single crystal workflows: point-and-click centering, object selection, and automated progression through a queue of samples without user intervention.
Mount anything that conforms to the SBS plate dimensions
XtalCheck-S addresses the critical bottleneck between crystallization and sample harvesting, enabling users to triage crystals early in situ.
The C3-1 screen, developed by CSIRO’s Collaborative Crystallization Centre and offered by Rigaku Reagents, is a 96-condition crystallization screen designed for early-stage protein crystallization. It emphasizes low molecular weight PEGs (PEG 200–550), offering broad chemical diversity and high hit rates across a wide range of protein targets.
Key Features:
96 unique conditions focused on PEG 200–550
Designed for initial screening and early-stage structure discovery
The RSfPC is a course aimed at newcomers to crystallography and focuses on the practical aspects of crystallography with 10 lectures covering approx 10 hours and a course exam at the end.
The Rigaku School for Practical Crystallography was created during the pandemic to help fill the gap left by the cancellation of many regional crystallographic teaching schools. Thanks to the positive response over the past four years, it has continued to grow. Now offered on-demand, the course aims to make learning more accessible by overcoming time-zone challenges and reaching a wider audience.
We’re excited to welcome new students to the Rigaku School for Practical Crystallography.
Here is a video that shows how to calculate unit cell standard deviations in CrysAlisPro using the Monte Carlo Simulation tool.
Videos of the Month
The 2025Ig Nobel Prizeswere awarded at the 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony, on Thursday evening, September 18, 2025 at Boston University.
Crystals in the News
August 11, 2025
Scientists from Japan, the Netherlands and the UK have synthesized and characterized a series ofalkylidene cyclopropanesusing an enantioselective catalyst.
October 16, 2025
Researchers from Germany and UK report the synthesis and characterization oftriple stranded porphyrin nanobeltscomposed of eight to 12 nickel-coordinating porphyrin macrocycles.
Chris Sweeney’s The Feather Detective: Mystery, Mayhem, and the Magnificent Life of Roxie Laybourne is unputdownable. Whether you are a birder, a fan of TV shows like Bones, an aviation aficionado, a true crime lover, or a casual reader of biographies, The Feather Detective has something for everyone. And you’d be forgiven if you’ve never heard of Roxie Laybourne, as Sweeney’s is the first published biography of her life and work.
Laybourne was the FBI’s go-to expert for many years for bird-related crime. If a wife smothered her husband with a down feather pillow, Laybourne could match the feathers from the pillow to the feathers on the deceased mouth to the feathers on the murderer’s hands. If a man wearing a down jacket stabbed his wife, Laybourne could match the feathers in his jacket to feathers found at the crime scene. While Laybourne’s expert testimony in court cases did not always lead to a conviction, Sweeney outlines the various investigations where Laybourne’s expertise lent law enforcement the edge they needed to narrow down the suspect pool, including details about her testimony in court and how it was received by the jury in each case.
Laybourne also did a tremendous amount of work regarding deadly bird strikes in aviation in the latter half of the 20th century. Her work helped identify which bird species were the culprits in numerous deadly bird strike-induced crashes. She consulted for the fledgling Federal Aviation Administration, the United States military, and private companies like General Electric, a well-known airplane engine manufacturer. And as part of her work with the Department of Fish and Wildlife, Laybourne helped put away criminals poaching on American soil.
Laybourne’s professional demeanor and breadth of work are colorful and entertaining enough that the lack of detail about her personal life is almost unnoticeable. Sweeney respects Laybourne’s established boundaries between personal and professional life and focuses on her career trajectory and her work across various federal agencies and private corporations for any and all bird-related mysteries. The result is a delightful read about an unsung hero of ornithology.
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