In crystallo optical spectroscopy as a complementary tool to crystallography

The analysis of structural data obtained by X-ray crystallography benefits from information obtained from complementary techniques, especially if these are applied to the crystals themselves. As a consequence, optical spectroscopies as applied in Structural Biology have become instrumental in assessing the relevance of many crystallographic results. Since the year 2000, such data can be recorded close to, or directly on, the Structural Biology Group beamlines of the ESRF. A core laboratory featuring various spectrometers, named the Cryobench, is now in its third version and houses portable devices that can be directly mounted on beamlines. This presentation will report the status of the current version of the Cryobench, now located on the MAD beamline ID29 and thus called ID29S-Cryobench, S standing for 'Spectroscopy'. In particular, the new on-line Raman data collection mode of ID29 will be described. Finally, it will review the diverse experiments that can be performed at the Cryobench, highlighting various scientific questions that can be addressed.