SHARE

Bio-SANS

Updated:

What is Bio-SANS?

Bio-SANS is a Biological Small-Angle Neutron Scattering instrument that uses neutrons to study the structure and function of complex biological materials with high precision.

As part of the Center for Structural Molecular Biology, Bio-SANS helps researchers investigate the molecular details of biological processes — including analyzing disease mechanisms, electron transfer processes in cellular systems, and the structural changes in plant cell walls during processing and conversion of biomass during fuel production. 

Sample Area
Bio-SANS Sample Area. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

Bio-SANS is a specialized neutron instrument designed with high neutron flux and low experimental background noise, making it ideal for biological research. The instrument has a modular platform that supports a variety of sample environments, including humidity chambers and flow cells, to accommodate complex measurements. 

Bio-SANS provides researchers with detailed information about the three-dimensional shape and assembly of large biological molecules, and could significantly extend the number, size and complexity of biological systems that are accessible to neutron scattering analysis.

Wide Angle Detector
Wide-Angle Detector. Credit: ORNL, U.S. Dept of Energy

In 2016, a technicians installed a wide-angle detector bank that increased the accessible scattering q-range 15-fold, critical for time-resolved studies of hierarchical and large biological systems. Advancements in sample environment capabilities include: 

  • an improved pressure cell
  • a multi-position sample holder with rotational (tumbling) capability
  • a humidity-controlled chamber
  • a flow cell 

Furthermore, grazing-incidence SANS in conjunction with the humidity chamber is also being developed. The sample area has also been reconfigured to provide flexibility in mounting a wider range of sample environments. Recent implementation of automated batch-processing for data reduction through open source software (MantidPlot) enhances the efficiency of the neutron scattering user experiments.

Learn More About Bio-SANS