Overview
MASSIF-1 is a world leading unique facility for the high throughput, fully automatic characterisation and data collection of macromolecular crystals. The service is not designed to replace user visits to the synchrotron, but rather to do the hard work of screening crystals or collecting routine data sets through the night, freeing researchers to spend more time on challenging data collection problems and study the underlying biology. MASSIF-1 is an autonomous intelligent system taking numerous decisions during the characterisation process to get the best possible data from user samples.
!!!!! Please note that the beamline is compatible with uni-pucks ONLY !!!!!
** New Pseudo-helical data collection strategies for both native and SAD data collection are now available, see www.esrf.eu/MXPressP **
NEW! Applications now invited for completely automated high throughput fragment screening funded by iNEXT, see https://inext-discovery.eu/ for details. The service combines CrystalDirect robotic soaking and mounting of crystals developed at the EMBL, Grenoble with the fully automatic characterisation and data collection platform at the ESRF to form the worlds first fully automated fragment screening pipeline.
Publications describing MASSIF-1:
Please cite the appropriate references for exepriments performed on MASSIF-1. An endnote library can be downloaded here
| Paper | Describes | Should be cited for... |
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Svensson, O., Monaco, S., Popov, A. N., Nurizzo, D. & Bowler, M. W. (2015). The fully automatic characterization and data collection from crystals of biological macromolecules, Acta Cryst. D71, 1757-1767, http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S1399004715011918 |
Describes the original developments in sample location, characterisation and data collection algorithms (automesh, X-ray centring, MXPressE and SAD data collection protocols etc.), |
all experiments conducted on MASSIF-1 or used X-ray centring at ESRF beamlines |
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Bowler M.W., Nurizzo, D., Barrett, R., Beteva, A., Bodin, M., Caserotto, H., Delageniere, S., Dobias, F., Flot, D., Giraud, T., Guichard, N., Guijarro, M., Lentini, M., Leonard, G., McSweeney, S., Oskarsson, M., Schmidt, W., Snigirev, A., von Stetten, D., Surr, J., Svensson, O., Theveneau, P. and Mueller-Dieckmann, C. (2015) MASSIF-1: A beamline dedicated to the fully automatic characterisation and data collection from crystals of biological macromolecules J. Sync. Rad. 22 1540-1547 http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S1600577515016604. |
Describes the technical layout and motivation for the beamline. |
all experiments conducted on MASSIF-1 |
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Svensson, O., Gilski, M., Nurizzo, D. & Bowler, M. W. (2018). Multi-position data collection and dynamic beam sizing: recent improvements to the automatic data-collection algorithms on MASSIF-1, Acta Cryst. D74, 433-440, http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S2059798318003728 |
Describes the improvements made to the automatic data collection algorithms including dynamic adaptation of beam diameter to crystal volume and multi-position and helical data collection (MXPressP) |
all experiments that used MXPressP or benefited from dynamic beam diameter |
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Nurizzo, D., Bowler M.W., Caserotto, H., Dobias, F., Giraud, T., Surr, J., Guichard, N., Papp, G., Guijarro, M., Mueller-Dieckmann, C., Flot, D., McSweeney, S. Cipriani, F, Theveneau, P. and Leonard, G. (2016) RoboDiff: combining a sample changer and goniometer for highly automated macromolecular crystallography experiments Acta Cryst D 72, 966-975, http://dx.doi.org/10.1107/S205979831601158X. |
Describes the core robotic automation of the beamline |
all experiments that used / describe the goniometer |
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Bowler, M.W., Svensson, O. & Nurizzo, D. (2016): Fully automatic macromolecular crystallography: the impact of MASSIF-1 on the optimum acquisition and quality of data, Cryst. Rev., 22, 233–249 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0889311X.2016.1155050. |
Describes the first full year of operation of MASSIF-1, analysing the results from the large scale automation of MX data collection showing the advantages of fully autonomous data collection |
papers that wish to cite the benefits of fully automatic data collection |
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Svensson, O., Gilski, M., Nurizzo, D. & Bowler, M. W. (2019) A comparative anatomy of protein crystals: lessons from the automatic processing of 56,000 samples IUCrJ 6, 822-831 http://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252519008017 |
Describes the analysis of all the samples that have been sent to the beamline so far |
papers that wish to cite the analysis of crystal volumetric data and 'big data' in MX |
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Hutin, S., Van Laer, B., Mueller-Dieckmann, C., Leonard, G., Nurizzo, D., Bowler, M. W. (2019). Fully Autonomous Characterization and Data Collection from Crystals of Biological Macromolecules. J. Vis. Exp. 145, e59032, doi:10.3791/59032 |
A video article describing how to set up an experiment on the beamline |
papers that wish to cite the logistical and technical setup at MASSIF-1 |
MASSIF-1 has a highly intense beam (5 x 1012 ph/sec) with a flexible focussed beam size between 100 µm x 100 µm and 10 µm x 10 µm (H x V FWHM) at a fixed energy of 12.835 keV (0.966 Å). The beamline is optimised for fully automatic data collection and sample evaluation with a MD2S microdiffractometer and high capacity dewar (368 spine pins). New automated services use mesh scans to fully evaluate crystals and centre the optimal volume to the beam, this position is then characterised and data collected, or not, depending on user request and parameters defined in the diffraction plan in ISPyB. No restrictions are placed on samples, loop size or crystal quality. As this is a fully automatic high throughput service samples must be registerd in the ISPyB data base with sample names and puck barcodes.
Short video from the GIANT campus communications team describing how the EMBL and ESRF collaboration on MASSIF-1 helped Sanofi-Aventis:
An overview of the setup of the optical and experimental hutches can be found here.
partners
European Synchrotron Radiation Facility - 71, avenue des Martyrs, CS 40220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 9, France.