Non-contact luminescence lifetime cryothermometry for macromolecular crystallography

Abstract

Temperature is a very important parameter when aiming to minimize radiation damage to biological samples during experiments that utilize intense ionizing radiation. A novel technique for remote, non-contact, in situ monitoring of the protein crystal temperature has been developed for the new I23 beamline at the Diamond Light Source, a facility dedicated to macromolecular crystallography (MX) with long-wavelength X-rays. The temperature is derived from the temperature-dependent decay time constant of luminescence from a minuscule scintillation sensor (<0.05 mm 3 ) located in very close proximity to the sample under test. In this work the underlying principle of cryogenic luminescence lifetime thermometry is presented, the features of the detection method and the choice of temperature sensor are discussed, and it is demonstrated how the temperature monitoring system was integrated within the viewing system of the endstation used for the visualization of protein crystals. The thermometry system was characterized using a Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 crystal scintillator that exhibits good responsivity of the decay time constant as a function of temperature over a wide range (8-270 K). The scintillation sensor was calibrated and the uncertainty of the temperature measurements over the primary operation temperature range of the beamline (30-150 K) was assessed to be AE 1.6 K. It has been shown that the temperature of the sample holder, measured using the luminescence sensor, agrees well with the expected value. The technique was applied to characterize the thermal performance of different sample mounts that have been used in MX experiments at the I23 beamline. The thickness of the mount is shown to have the greatest impact upon the temperature distribution across the sample mount. Altogether, these tests and findings demonstrate the usefulness of the thermometry system in highlighting the challenges that remain to be addressed for the in-vacuum MX experiment to become a reliable and indispensable tool for structural biology.

Multimodal Non-Contact Luminescence Thermometry with Cr-Doped Oxides

“…Luminescence thermometry is well suited for this, and investigations in this direction have started a few years ago at the Diamond Light Source. A first dedicated luminescence thermometry system for non-contact temperature monitoring in a vacuum environment was developed and deployed at the I23 beamline [ 33 , 34 ]. The temperature is derived from changes in the luminescence decay characteristics of a Bi 4 Ge 3 O 12 (BGO) scintillation sensor.…”

High-resolution remote thermometry and thermography using luminescent low-dimensional tin-halide perovskites

“…fluorophores or phosphors) with PL in the visible spectral range (Fig. 1c) that are deposited onto, or incorporated into, the object of interest as temperature probes [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] . To probe an object's temperature, the luminophore is then excited by an ultraviolet or visible (UV-Vis) pulsed source (e.g.…”

Reviewing Rare Earth Succinate Frameworks from the Reticular Chemistry Point of View: Structures, Nets, Catalytic and Photoluminescence Applications

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