Crystallography may be described as the science of the structure of materi als, using this word in its widest sense, and its ramifications are apparent over a broad front of current scientific endeavor. It is not surprising, therefore, to find that most universities offer some aspects of crystallography in their undergraduate courses in the physical sciences. It is the principal aim of this book to present an introduction to structure determination by X-ray crystal lography that is appropriate mainly to both final-year undergraduate studies in crystallography, chemistry, and chemical physics, and introductory post graduate work in this area of crystallography. We believe that the book will be of interest in other disciplines, such as physics, metallurgy, biochemistry, and geology, where crystallography has an important part to play. In the space of one book, it is not possible either to cover all aspects of crystallography or to treat all the subject matter completely rigorously. In particular, certain mathematical results are assumed in order that their applications may be discussed. At the end of each chapter, a short bibliog raphy is given, which may be used to extend the scope of the treatment given here. In addition, reference is made in the text to specific sources of information. We have chosen not to discuss experimental methods extensively, as we consider that this aspect of crystallography is best learned through practical experience, but an attempt has been made to simulate the interpretive side of experimental crystallography in both examples and exercises.

This book provides a clear introduction to topics which are essential to students in a wide range of scientific disciplines but which are otherwise only covered in specialised and mathematically detailed texts. It shows how crystal structures may be built up from simple ideas of atomic packing and co-ordination, it develops the concepts of crystal symmetry, point and space groups by way of two dimensional examples of patterns and tilings, it explains the concept of the reciprocal lattice in simple terms and shows its importance in an understanding of light, X-ray and electron diffraction. Practical examples of the applications of these techniques are described and also the importance of diffraction in the performance of optical instruments. The book is also of value to the general reader since it shows, by biographical and historical references, how the subject has developed and thereby indicates some of the excitement of scientific discovery.

This book reviews current techniques used in membrane protein structural biology, with a strong focus on practical issues. The study of membrane protein structures not only provides a basic understanding of life at the molecular level but also helps in the rational and targeted design of new drugs with reduced side effects. Today, about 60% of the commercially available drugs target membrane proteins and it is estimated that nearly 30% of proteins encoded in the human genome are membrane proteins. In recent years much effort has been put towards innovative developments to overcome the numerous obstacles associated with the structure determination of membrane proteins. This book reviews a variety of recent techniques that are essential to any modern researcher in the field of membrane protein structural biology. The topics that are discussed are not commonly found in textbooks. The scope of this book includes: Expression screening using fluorescent proteins The use of detergents in membrane protein research The use of NMR Synchrotron developments in membrane protein structural biology Visualisation and X-ray data collection of microcrystals X-ray diffraction data analysis from multiple crystals Serial millisecond crystallography Serial femtosecond crystallography Membrane protein structures in drug discovery The information provided in this book should be of interest to anyone working in the area of structural biology. Students will find carefully prepared overviews of basic ideas and advanced protein scientists will find the level of detail required to apply the material directly to their day to day work. Chapters 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 of this book are published open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com.

In the decade since publication of the first edition this book, the field has seen several major developments. These developments have both accelerated the pace of structure determination and made crystallography accessible to a broader range of investigators. Volume I is dedicated to crystallization and ways to increase the odds of obtaining crystals in macromolecules. Volume 2 covers both computational methods for characterizing crystals and solving structures.