MX in a nutshell
Macromolecular crystallography (MX) is a technique used to determine the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules, such as proteins, DNA, or RNA, through X-ray diffraction methods.
The MX Facilities at PSI
The Macromolecular Crystallography group is responsible for three beamlines at the Swiss Light Source, the Cristallina-MX endstation at SwissFEL, and the Crystallisation Facility.
Scientific Highlights
Filming a vitamin B12 photoreceptor in action
SwissFEL shows the molecular events that occur when a vitamin B12 photoreceptor absorbs light
X-raying auditory ossicles – a new technique reveals structures in record time
Using a bone, PSI researchers have demonstrated how the structures of biological materials can be determined on scales from nanometres to millimetres in a very short time.
PILATUS4 detector arrives at PXIII
On April 4, 2025, a Dectris Pilatus4 2M detector was successfully installed at beamline PXIII. In the coming weeks, this new detector will be used to measure the first macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments using the SLS 2.0 machine.