Imaging of single bioparticles with LCLS

Program Description

The ultrafast and ultrabright X-pulses provided by LCLS enable diffraction-before destruction imaging of single, isolated non-crystalline particles such as viruses, cells, cellular organelles or aerosol particulates. Single particle coherent diffractive imaging presents the advantage that no modification of the the sample, such as staining, freezing or sectioning is required. In order to extend these experiments to the smallest possible samples, such as macromolecular complexes or ultimately single molecules, samples must be aerosolized and introduced into the vacuum environment at the sample-beam interaction region at high density and in their native state. Recent progress in biosample injection techniques has greatly reduced the variability in primary droplet size during aerosolization and facilitates the delivery of isolated particles down to the single molecule limit.