title: Automated sample-changing robot for solution scattering experiments at the EMBL Hamburg SAXS station X33.
abstract: There is a rapidly increasing interest in the use of synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) for large-scale studies of biological macromolecules in solution, and this requires an adequate means of automating the experiment. A prototype has been developed of an automated sample changer for solution SAXS, where the solutions are kept in thermostatically controlled well plates allowing for operation with up to 192 samples. The measuring protocol involves controlled loading of protein solutions and matching buffers, followed by cleaning and drying of the cell between measurements. The system was installed and tested at the X33 beamline of the EMBL, at the storage ring DORIS-III (DESY, Hamburg), where it was used by over 50 external groups during 2007. At X33, a throughput of approximately 12 samples per hour, with a failure rate of sample loading of less than 0.5%, was observed. The feedback from users indicates that the ease of use and reliability of the user operation at the beamline were greatly improved compared with the manual filling mode. The changer is controlled by a client-server-based network protocol, locally and remotely. During the testing phase, the changer was operated in an attended mode to assess its reliability and convenience. Full integration with the beamline control software, allowing for automated data collection of all samples loaded into the machine with remote control from the user, is presently being implemented. The approach reported is not limited to synchrotron-based SAXS but can also be used on laboratory and neutron sources.
authors.affiliation: EMBL Hamburg, Building 25a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Round
authors.affiliation: EMBL Hamburg, Building 25a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Franke
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation IPA, Department of Production and Process Automation, Nobelstrasse 12, 70659 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Moritz
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation IPA, Department of Production and Process Automation, Nobelstrasse 12, 70659 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Huchler
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation IPA, Department of Production and Process Automation, Nobelstrasse 12, 70659 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fritsche
authors.affiliation: Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing, Engineering and Automation IPA, Department of Production and Process Automation, Nobelstrasse 12, 70659 Stuttgart, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Malthan
authors.affiliation: EMBL Hamburg, Building 25a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Klaering
authors.affiliation: EMBL Hamburg, Building 25a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany ; Institute of Crystallography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninsky prospekt 59, 117333 Moscow, Russian Federation.
authors.forename: D I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Svergun
authors.affiliation: EMBL Hamburg, Building 25a, Notkestrasse 85, 22603 Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Roessle
keywords: automation; biological macromolecules; high throughput; small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS); solution