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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2010 Oct 1.
Published in final edited form as: Methods. 2009 May 4;49(2):101–111. doi: 10.1016/j.ymeth.2009.04.016

Table 2.

Experimental parameters for a RNA Raman crystallography experiment

RNA crystal Raman microscope system
Size Minimum is 30 μm edge; typical is 100–300 μm Excitation source 647.1 nm Kr+ laser
Quality Stable to changes of experimental conditions (e.g. pH, ions, …) Laser power 50–100 mW
Reservoir solution Stabilization buffer: 20 mM MgCl2, 2 mM spermine, 50% MPD, 50 mM buffer Microscope objective 50× (or 20×) long- focal-length
Hanging drop ~5 μL stabilization buffer Operation mode Nonconfocal mode
Symmetry High symmetry is less orientation-dependent (e.g. cubic) Data collection time 100 s (=10 accumulations for 10 sec each)
Resolution Low resolution (e.g. 5 Å) crystals work well Operation temperature Room temperature
Temperature Crystal is in hanging drop at ambient temperature (i.e. no cryo- conditions used) Detector Charge-coupled device at −70 °C