X-Ray Diffraction
Introduction
• X-ray diffraction is used to obtain structural
information about crystalline solids.
• Useful in biochemistry to solve the 3D structures of
complex biomolecules.
• Bridge the gaps between physics, chemistry, and
biology.
X-ray diffraction is important for:
• Solid-state physics
• Biophysics
• Medical physics
• Chemistry and Biochemistry
X-ray Diffractometer
History of X-Ray Diffraction
1895 X-rays discovered by Roentgen
1914 First diffraction pattern of a crystal
made by Knipping and von Laue
1915 Theory to determine crystal
structure from diffraction pattern
developed by Bragg.
1953 DNA structure solved by Watson
and Crick
Now Diffraction improved by computer
technology; methods used to
determine atomic structures and in
medical applications
The first X-ray
How Diffraction Works
Wave Interacting with a Single Particle
Incident beams scattered uniformly in all directions
Wave Interacting with a Solid
Scattered beams interfere constructively in some
directions, producing diffracted beams
Random arrangements cause beams to randomly
interfere and no distinctive pattern is produced
Crystalline Material
Regular pattern of crystalline atoms produces
regular diffraction pattern.
Diffraction pattern gives information on crystal
structure
NaCl
How Diffraction Works: Bragg’s Law
X-rays of
wavelength l
nl=2dsin(Q)
l
d
Q Q
• Similar principle to multiple slit experiments
• Constructive and destructive interference patterns depend on
lattice spacing (d) and wavelength of radiation (l)
• By varying wavelength and observing diffraction patterns,
information about lattice spacing is obtained
How Diffraction Works: Schematic
NaCl
http://mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/modules/xray/X-raystm.pdf
How Diffraction Works: Schematic
NaCl
http://mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/modules/xray/X-raystm.pdf
Analyzing Diffraction Patterns
Data is taken from a full range of angles
For simple crystal structures, diffraction
patterns are easily recognizable
For complicated structures, diffraction
patterns at each angle can be used to
produce a 3-D electron density map
Analyzing Diffraction Patterns
d1=1.09 A
d2=1.54 A
http://www.ecn.purdue.edu/WBG/Introduction/
http://www.eserc.stonybrook.edu/ProjectJava/Bragg/ nl=2dsin(Q)
Solving the Structure of DNA:
History
Rosalind Franklin- physical chemist
and x-ray crystallographer who first
crystallized and photographed BDNA
Maurice Wilkins- collaborator of
Franklin
Watson & Crick- chemists who
combined the information from Photo
51 with molecular modeling to solve
the structure of DNA in 1953
Rosalind Franklin
Solving the Structure of DNA
Photo 51 Analysis
“X” pattern characteristic
of helix
Diamond shapes
indicate long, extended
molecules
Smear spacing reveals
distance between
repeating structures
Missing smears indicate
interference from second Photo 51- The x-ray diffraction image
helix that allowed Watson and Crick to solve
the structure of DNA
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51
Solving the Structure of DNA
Photo 51 Analysis
“X” pattern characteristic
of helix
Diamond shapes
indicate long, extended
molecules
Smear spacing reveals
distance between
repeating structures
Missing smears indicate
interference from second Photo 51- The x-ray diffraction image
helix that allowed Watson and Crick to solve
the structure of DNA
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51
Solving the Structure of DNA
Photo 51 Analysis
“X” pattern characteristic
of helix
Diamond shapes
indicate long, extended
molecules
Smear spacing reveals
distance between
repeating structures
Missing smears indicate
interference from second Photo 51- The x-ray diffraction image
helix that allowed Watson and Crick to solve
the structure of DNA
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51
Solving the Structure of DNA
Photo 51 Analysis
“X” pattern characteristic
of helix
Diamond shapes
indicate long, extended
molecules
Smear spacing reveals
distance between
repeating structures
Missing smears indicate
interference from second Photo 51- The x-ray diffraction image
helix that allowed Watson and Crick to solve
the structure of DNA
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51
Solving the Structure of DNA
Photo 51 Analysis
“X” pattern characteristic
of helix
Diamond shapes
indicate long, extended
molecules
Smear spacing reveals
distance between
repeating structures
Missing smears indicate
interference from second Photo 51- The x-ray diffraction image
helix that allowed Watson and Crick to solve
the structure of DNA
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51
Solving the Structure of DNA
Information Gained from Photo 51
Double Helix
Radius: 10 angstroms
Distance between bases: 3.4 angstroms
Distance per turn: 34 angstroms
Combining Data with Other Information
DNA made from:
sugar
phosphates
4 nucleotides (A,C,G,T)
Chargaff’s Rules
%A=%T
%G=%C
Molecular Modeling
Watson and Crick’s model
Applications of X-Ray Diffraction
Find structure to determine function of proteins
Distinguish between different crystal structures with
identical compositions
Study crystal deformation and stress properties
Study of rapid biological and chemical processes
…and much more!
Summary and Conclusions
X-ray diffraction is a technique for analyzing
structures of biological molecules
X-ray beam hits a crystal, scattering the beam in a
manner characterized by the atomic structure
Even complex structures can be analyzed by x-ray
diffraction, such as DNA and proteins
This will provide useful in the future for combining
knowledge from physics, chemistry, and biology
Related links
https://cms.eas.ualberta.ca/xrd/how-xrd-work
s/
https://youtu.be/QHMzFUo0NL8
https://youtu.be/07iZ7-IEyYE
https://youtu.be/D65k1yHPKaM
References
www.matter.org.uk/diffraction
www.embo.or/projects/scisoc/download/TW02weiss.pdf
www.branta.connectfree.co.uk/x-ray_diffraction.htm
www.xraydiffrac.com/xrd.htm
www.samford.edu/~gekeller/casey.html
neon.mems.cmu.edu/xray/Introduction.html
www.omega.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/ray/dna/franklin.htm
mrsec.wisc.edu/edetc/modules/xray/X-raystm.pdf
Exploring the Nanoworld
www.eserc.stonybrook.edu/ProjectJava/Bragg/
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/photo51
