Almost all protein crystallography groups have transitioned to robot mounting. The following instructions will demonstrate the complete workflow before, during, and after, your experiment for the average user.
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In the MX Robot GUI (webpage), on the top right corner. If access is currently set to inactive, take over robot access by clicking on thebutton to change it to active.
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2. Add samples to your mount queue
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While the robot is mounting, the robot status will read:
'Goniometer motors locked for mount or collection'
“Prefetch” - robot prefetches your 2nd sample pin (sample second from the top) and places it in a slot that the robot can quickly retrieve.
While the robot is prefetching:
'Robot is busy but safe to collect'
It is safe to start collecting data whilst the robot is prefetching.
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If you need to go into the hutch. Make sure you ’Park' the robot. The robot status might read:
‘Robot is idle: Must be parked prior to hutch entry’
Avoid going into the hutch whilst the robot is moving, especially during mount and prefetch stages. For your safety, the robot will cease its movement when the hutch is unlocked and open and can cause it to stall. Parking the robot will take some time, when it is parked the following text should show up on the robot status:
‘Robot parked: Safe for hutch entry’Finished collecting
When you have finished mounting and collecting your data, it is common courtesy and good beamline etiquette to 'Dismount and Park' the robot for the next user or for the beamline scientists.
4. Sample Centering
At the top of the page, navigate to the ‘Sample Centering' tab. Most users prefer to use the 'Three Click Centering’ tool, just follow the prompts and pick a particular spot on your crystal.
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The distance input determines the distance between your sample crystal and the detector. If your crystal diffracts all the way to the edge, consider moving the detector closer so that all reflections are accounted for. If the your crystal diffracts into a small area in the center, consider if your crystal is worth collection, and if so, move the detector further out.
6. Data Processing
The Data Processing page can be reached using any synchrotron browser by typing in:
processing/processing
It will show a list of auto-processed data by XDS for each of the samples that you have screened or collected. An excel spreadsheet export of all of the auto-process data is automatically uploaded to the EPN folder on our FTP server.
Finished collecting
When you have finished mounting and collecting your data, it is common courtesy and good beamline etiquette to 'Dismount and Park' the robot for the next user or for the beamline scientists.
It is good practise to communicate with your CAP group 15 minutes before you intend to finish to alert the next user that they can get ready to take over. If you are the last user for your experiment, it would be appreciated if you could reply to the beamline ready email and let the beamline scientists know that you are the last user and you are done with collection.