Abstract
The design and features of a beamline control software system for macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments developed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) are described. This system, MxCuBE, allows users to easily and simply interact with beamline hardware components and provides automated routines for common tasks in the operation of a synchrotron beamline dedicated to experiments in MX. Additional functionality is provided through intuitive interfaces that enable the assessment of the diffraction characteristics of samples, experiment planning, automatic data collection and the on-line collection and analysis of X-ray emission spectra. The software can be run in a tandem client-server mode that allows for remote control and relevant experimental parameters and results are automatically logged in a relational database, ISPyB. MxCuBE is modular, flexible and extensible and is currently deployed on eight macromolecular crystallography beamlines at the ESRF. Additionally, the software is installed at MAX-lab beamline I911-3 and at BESSY beamline BL14.1.
Highlights
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) Structural Biology Group runs six beamlines for macromolecular crystallography (MX)
The design and features of a beamline control software system for macromolecular crystallography (MX) experiments developed at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) are described
The software can be run in a tandem client-server mode that allows for remote control and relevant experimental parameters and results are automatically logged in a relational database, ISPyB
Summary
The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) Structural Biology Group runs six beamlines for macromolecular crystallography (MX). Since the first beamline in this suite was commissioned, the number of macromolecular crystal structures elucidated per year using diffraction data collected at the ESRF has increased more than 20-fold This increase in productivity has arisen owing to a number of initiatives which have augmented both the rate. In order to allow experimenters unfamiliar with beamline control to use such resources, graphical user interfaces (GUIs) were developed to simplify the use of these facilities (Kinder et al, 1996; Skinner & Sweet, 1998) The evolution of these programs has led to an increasing degree of sophistication (McPhillips et al, 2002; Skinner et al, 2006) and the software used in GUI construction allows the exploitation of control services distributed over many computers and the linking of experimental parameters to information storage systems. Low-level control is achieved via connection to TACO or TANGO servers (http://www.tango-controls.org/) and to the macro language SPEC (Certified Scientific Software; http://www.certif.com/)
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