University of Toronto · Miller Group · Visiting Research Assistant · Jul 2021 – May 2022
Femtosecond laser-induced crystallisation and electron diffraction
Generating macro- and nanocrystals with femtosecond lasers for X-ray and electron crystallography.
- Femtosecond lasers
- X-ray diffraction
- SerialED
- TEM
The project
In the Miller Group I investigated femtosecond laser-induced crystallisation to generate macro- and nanocrystals suitable for X-ray and electron crystallography.
Controlling crystal growth
I optimised laser parameters — pulse energy, repetition rate and exposure time — to control nucleation and crystal growth, working with protein, nucleic acid and small-molecule systems including hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL), guanine and CrCl₃.
Diffraction
I collected and analysed diffraction data, including X-ray diffraction experiments resulting in a 1.4 Å HEWL structure, supported Serial Electron Diffraction (SerialED) workflows for nanocrystal structure determination, and performed TEM imaging and electron diffraction measurements.
Related work
Related publication: “Acquisition and Analysis of Serial Electron Diffraction Data for Structure Determination”, Microscopy and Microanalysis.