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Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , X-ray screening identifies active site and allosteric inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 main protease(American Association for the Advancement of Science (Assoc.), 2021-04-02); ; ; ; The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 is creating tremendous human suffering. To date, no effective drug is available to directly treat the disease. In a search for a drug against COVID-19, we have performed a high-throughput X-ray crystallographic screen of two repurposing drug libraries against the SARS-CoV-2 main protease (Mpro), which is essential for viral replication. In contrast to commonly applied X-ray fragment screening experiments with molecules of low complexity, our screen tested alreadyapproved drugs and drugs in clinical trials. From the three-dimensional protein structures, we identified 37 compounds that bind to Mpro. In subsequent cell-based viral reduction assays, one peptidomimetic and six nonpeptidic compounds showed antiviral activity at nontoxic concentrations. We identified two allosteric binding sites representing attractive targets for drug development against SARS-CoV-2.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 214 186 281 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , On the use of multilayer Laue lenses with X-ray free electron lasers(SPIE, 2021); ; We report on the use of multilayer Laue lenses to focus the intense X-ray Free Electron Laser (XFEL) beam at the European XFEL to a spot size of a few tens of nanometers. We present the procedure to align and characterize these lenses and discuss challenges working with the pulse trains from this unique X-ray source.Publicationtype: Conference Paper18 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Segmented flow generator for serial crystallography at the European X-ray free electron laser(2020-09-09); ; ; ; Serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) with X-ray free electron lasers (XFELs) allows structure determination of membrane proteins and time-resolved crystallography. Common liquid sample delivery continuously jets the protein crystal suspension into the path of the XFEL, wasting a vast amount of sample due to the pulsed nature of all current XFEL sources. The European XFEL (EuXFEL) delivers femtosecond (fs) X-ray pulses in trains spaced 100 ms apart whereas pulses within trains are currently separated by 889 ns. Therefore, continuous sample delivery via fast jets wastes >99% of sample. Here, we introduce a microfluidic device delivering crystal laden droplets segmented with an immiscible oil reducing sample waste and demonstrate droplet injection at the EuXFEL compatible with high pressure liquid delivery of an SFX experiment. While achieving ~60% reduction in sample waste, we determine the structure of the enzyme 3-deoxy-D-manno-octulosonate-8-phosphate synthase from microcrystals delivered in droplets revealing distinct structural features not previously reported.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 28 279 184 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: without files , Time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography at the European XFEL(2020-01-01); ; ; ; The European XFEL (EuXFEL) is a 3.4-km long X-ray source, which produces femtosecond, ultrabrilliant and spatially coherent X-ray pulses at megahertz (MHz) repetition rates. This X-ray source has been designed to enable the observation of ultrafast processes with near-atomic spatial resolution. Time-resolved crystallographic investigations on biological macromolecules belong to an important class of experiments that explore fundamental and functional structural displacements in these molecules. Due to the unusual MHz X-ray pulse structure at the EuXFEL, these experiments are challenging. Here, we demonstrate how a biological reaction can be followed on ultrafast timescales at the EuXFEL. We investigate the picosecond time range in the photocycle of photoactive yellow protein (PYP) with MHz X-ray pulse rates. We show that difference electron density maps of excellent quality can be obtained. The results connect the previously explored femtosecond PYP dynamics to timescales accessible at synchrotrons. This opens the door to a wide range of time-resolved studies at the EuXFEL.Publicationtype: Journal Article190 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Evaluation of serial crystallographic structure determination within megahertz pulse trains(American Institute of Physics (AIP), 2019-12-04); ; ; ; The new European X-ray Free-Electron Laser (European XFEL) is the first X-ray free-electron laser capable of delivering intense X-ray pulses with a megahertz interpulse spacing in a wavelength range suitable for atomic resolution structure determination. An outstanding but crucial question is whether the use of a pulse repetition rate nearly four orders of magnitude higher than previously possible results in unwanted structural changes due to either radiation damage or systematic effects on data quality. Here, separate structures from the first and subsequent pulses in the European XFEL pulse train were determined, showing that there is essentially no difference between structures determined from different pulses under currently available operating conditions at the European XFEL.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 27 152 195 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Membrane protein megahertz crystallography at the European XFEL(Nature Publishing Group, 2019-11-04); ; ; ; The world’s first superconducting megahertz repetition rate hard X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL), the European XFEL, began operation in 2017, featuring a unique pulse train structure with 886 ns between pulses. With its rapid pulse rate, the European XFEL may alleviate some of the increasing demand for XFEL beamtime, particularly for membrane protein serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX), leveraging orders-of-magnitude faster data collection. Here, we report the first membrane protein megahertz SFX experiment, where we determined a 2.9 Å-resolution SFX structure of the large membrane protein complex, Photosystem I, a > 1 MDa complex containing 36 protein subunits and 381 cofactors. We address challenges to megahertz SFX for membrane protein complexes, including growth of large quantities of crystals and the large molecular and unit cell size that influence data collection and analysis. The results imply that megahertz crystallography could have an important impact on structure determination of large protein complexes with XFELs.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 43 518 242 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Megahertz serial crystallography(Nature Publishing Group, 2018-10-02); ; ; ; The new European X-ray Free-Electron Laser is the first X-ray free-electron laser capable of delivering X-ray pulses with a megahertz inter-pulse spacing, more than four orders of magnitude higher than previously possible. However, to date, it has been unclear whether it would indeed be possible to measure high-quality diffraction data at megahertz pulse repetition rates. Here, we show that high-quality structures can indeed be obtained using currently available operating conditions at the European XFEL. We present two complete data sets, one from the well-known model system lysozyme and the other from a so far unknown complex of a β-lactamase from K. pneumoniae involved in antibiotic resistance. This result opens up megahertz serial femtosecond crystallography (SFX) as a tool for reliable structure determination, substrate screening and the efficient measurement of the evolution and dynamics of molecular structures using megahertz repetition rate pulses available at this new class of X-ray laser source.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 158 748 259 - Some of the metrics are blocked by yourconsent settings
Item type:Publication, Access status: with files , Rapid sample delivery for megahertz serial crystallography at X-ray FELs(2018-07-27); ; ; ; Liquid microjets are a common means of delivering protein crystals to the focus of X-ray free-electron lasers (FELs) for serial femtosecond crystallography measurements. The high X-ray intensity in the focus initiates an explosion of the microjet and sample. With the advent of X-ray FELs with megahertz rates, the typical velocities of these jets must be increased significantly in order to replenish the damaged material in time for the subsequent measurement with the next X-ray pulse. This work reports the results of a megahertz serial diffraction experiment at the FLASH FEL facility using 4.3 nm radiation. The operation of gas-dynamic nozzles that produce liquid microjets with velocities greater than 80 m s-1 was demonstrated. Furthermore, this article provides optical images of X-ray-induced explosions together with Bragg diffraction from protein microcrystals exposed to trains of X-ray pulses repeating at rates of up to 4.5 MHz. The results indicate the feasibility for megahertz serial crystallography measurements with hard X-rays and give guidance for the design of such experiments.Publicationtype: Journal ArticleScopus© Citations 50 284 255