Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: Acoustic droplet ejection (ADE) is a general, touchless, on-demand method that uses focused sound waves to eject picoliter to nanoliter volume droplets from the surface of one liquid to another location. The frequency of the wave front from a spot-focused piezoelectric transducer influences the ejected droplet size, whereas the amplitude of the sound waves translates into droplet velocity. ADE was originally developed for the biomedical industry, and we have adapted it to create new strategies for serial femtosecond crystallographic (SFX) approaches at XFEL facilities and complementary strategies at synchrotron sources. SFX requires large numbers of diffraction patterns from randomly orientated microcrystals, each yielding one still image before it is destroyed by the X-ray pulse. Consequently, samples of microcrystal slurries must be replenished at a sufficient pace to keep up with the XFEL pulse frequency. To help meet the sample consumption challenge, we and others have been developing on-demand sample delivery methods. By delivering discrete, well-separated drops that are timed to each X-ray pulse, ADE-based methods decrease sample consumption and increase data collection efficiency.
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2778957007