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SwissFEL demonstrates protein dynamics

The X-ray free-electron laser at the Paul Scherrer Institute is one of five facilities in the world that can visibly portray the biological processes of proteins. The method could help discover new active substances for medicine.

Michael Hennig, CEO of biotech company leadXpro, and PSI physicist Karol Nass at SwissFEL.
Michael Hennig, CEO of biotech company leadXpro, (left) and PSI physicist Karol Nass at SwissFEL. (Image credit: Paul Scherrer Institute/Mahir Dzambegovic)

Just under two years since it launched, SwissFEL has successfully completed its first experiment on biological molecules, announced the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in a statement. Working with colleagues from leadXpro, which is also based in Villigen, PSI researchers studied a membrane protein that plays a role in cancer.

“Thanks to SwissFEL’s extremely short X-ray pulses, here at PSI we can study not only the structure of molecules, but also their movements,” explained PSI physicist Karol Nass in the statement. “This will allow us to look at and understand numerous biological processes from a completely different perspective.”

SwissFEL can emit up to a hundred X-ray flashes per second “to a billion times’ higher intensity” than other synchrotron facilities, according to PSI. The images generated show “very fast molecular movements as if in real-time”, while the laser can also process much smaller protein structures than other comparable facilities.

For Michael Hennig, CEO of biotech company leadXpro, the SwissFEL experiments facilitate both “excellent fundamental research and applied biopharmaceutical research”. His company is interested in the impact of protein movements, which could help develop active substances for the targeted treatment of disease.

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