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marxps

Crystallization Plate Scanner

Horizontal translation

  • Stepper motor for the horizontal translation of the crystalllization tray

Vertical translation

  • Stepper motor for the vertical translation of the crystalllization tray

Stepping motor driver unit

Crystal monitor

  • built-in camera with large LCD screen

Tray holder

  • Accepts low and high profile trays from a variety of manufacturers
  • Supports trays with up to 4 drops/well
  • Definable layout of tray geometry

The marxps crystallization plate scanner is a brand-new addition to our legendary mardtb  goniostat system.  Essentially, it is a translation stage for widely used crystallization plates, with horizontal and vertical movements controlled by the mardtb electronics. It allows for quick and easy screening of your crystallization trials and saves you from the pain and risk of taking crystals out of their trays. 

HIGHLIGHTS

MODULAR

The  marxps is a modular component of our mardtb  goniostat. It can be added to existing mardtb goniostats or it can be purchased together with a new mardtb. As such, it can be combined with any X-ray source from Mo sealed tubes to latest synchrotrons and takes advantage of the unique features of the mardtb system like the automatic beam search and optimization.

FULL INTEGRATION

The marxps is fully integrated into the electronics control system of the mardtb  and does not require addtional electronical components.

ANY DETECTOR

The marxps can be used with any supported X-ray detector: the mar345  image plate, the EIGER and PILATUS3 detectors by DECTRIS and the SX-165/MX-225 CCD-detectors by Rayonix. Support for other detectors available on request.

NORMAL AND LOW PROFILE TRAYS

The system currently supports 96-well plates with 1 to 4 drops per well (e.g. Greiner and Swissci). Adapters for other types of plates available on request.

CRYSTAL CAMERA

The crystal camera of the mardtb  is focussed at the position of the drops of the crystallization plate. The video stream is available to the controlling computer.

POINT AND CLICK CENTERING

The crystal in the drop can easily be centered from the software by point-and-click using the computer mouse.

SOPHISTICATED SOFTWARE

The mardtb software comes with full support of the marxps component to make plate screening really easy. The software allows for automatic data collection of prescreened drops as well as fully automatic screening using a defined grid. The crystal camera is used to shoot photos from the drops used for data collection so there is a perfect feedback about the success of your crystallization work.

MOBILE CONTROL

Naturally, also the functions of the marxps system are supported by the brand-new mardtb app available for Android Please look at the mardtb app page for more details.

AFFORDABLE

The marxps system offers a very affordable possibilty to further enhance your mardtb goniostat system. Please ask for a quote!

OPERATION

LOAD/UNLOAD TRAY

Take your crystallization plate and just insert it into the holding area. No screws or tools involved - just slide it in! The flexible steel bracket safely holds the tray in the appropiate place.

FAST HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL TRANSLATION

The horizontal and vertical movements are implemented with stepper motors with a resolution of about 1 micron/step and speeds of about 2.5 mm/sec. Moving from well to well is done in 2-3 seconds.

AUTOMATIC DATA COLLECTION

Data collection is carried in multiple ways. You may want to visually screen the plate first and select a series of drops to be used for actually collect data. Or you can be lazy and just make an automatic data collection based on a definable grid. Or you can just stay at the experiment and do exposures drop by drop. Whatever suits you best...

DOWNLOADS

Movies are in mp4 format and use the H.264 codec. All movies are full size with 640x360 pixels resolution.