From then till now: changing data collection methods in single crystal X-ray crystallography since 1912

• Published in: Crystallography reviews Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 264 - 294
• Main Author: Powell, Harold R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis 02.10.2019; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Crystallography; Data collection; data processing; Detectors; Methods; Monochromatic radiation; Single crystals; X-rays
• ISSN: 0889-311X; 1476-3508
• DOI: 10.1080/0889311X.2019.1615483

The principal method used today for single crystal X-ray data collection is the Arndt-Wonacott screenless rotation method formalized in the late 1970s, but the physical hardware used now would be barely recognizable to scientists at that time. However, the technique of rotating a crystal around a single goniostat axis, illuminating it with monochromatic radiation, and collecting the data on a flat detector is identical. Indeed, this would not have been very surprising to the pioneers of X-ray crystallography early in the Twentieth Century, since the elements of this method were available in the early days of the science. In a sense, therefore, we have come full circle after utilizing a variety of different experimental methods and equipment, and the question arises; 'how did we get here?'; after all, there were long periods in our science where we used point detectors or curved area detectors, or using polychromatic X-rays and stationary crystals. This review was originally presented at ECM31 in Oviedo, Spain in August 2018 under the title `Vagando entre los picos ¿cómo llegué hastaaquí? Improving methods in data collection and processing'; the Spanish texttranslates as 'Wandering amongst the peaks - how did I get here?'.