Various X-ray techniques are employed to investigate specimens in diverse fields. Generally, scattering and absorption/emission processes occur due to the interaction of X-rays with matter. The output signals from these processes contain structural information and the electronic structure of specimens, respectively. The combination of complementary X-ray techniques improves the understanding of complex systems holistically. In this context, we introduce a multiplex imaging instrument that can collect small-/wide-angle X-ray diffraction and X-ray emission spectra simultaneously to investigate morphological information with nanoscale resolution, crystal arrangement at the atomic scale and the electronic structure of specimens.

X-rays can penetrate deeply into biological cells and thus allow for examination of their internal structures with high spatial resolution. In this study, X-ray phase-contrast imaging and tomography is combined with an X-ray-compatible optical stretcher and microfluidic sample delivery. Using this setup, individual cells can be kept in suspension while they are examined with the X-ray beam at a synchrotron. From the recorded holograms, 2D phase shift images that are proportional to the projected local electron density of the investigated cell can be calculated. From the tomographic reconstruction of multiple such projections the 3D electron density can be obtained. The cells can thus be studied in a hydrated or even living state, thus avoiding artifacts from freezing, drying or embedding, and can in principle also be subjected to different sample environments or mechanical strains. This combination of techniques is applied to living as well as fixed and stained NIH3T3 mouse fibroblasts and the effect of the beam energy on the phase shifts is investigated. Furthermore, a 3D algebraic reconstruction scheme and a dedicated mathematical description is used to follow the motion of the trapped cells in the optical stretcher for multiple rotations.

A reliable `in situ' method for wavefront sensing in the soft X-ray domain is reported, developed for the characterization of rotationally symmetric optical elements, like an ellipsoidal mirror shell. In a laboratory setup, the mirror sample is irradiated by an electron-excited (4.4 keV), micrometre-sized (∼2 µm) fluorescence source (carbon Kα, 277 eV). Substantially, the three-dimensional intensity distribution I(r) is recorded by a CCD camera (2048 × 512 pixels of 13.5 µm) at two positions along the optical axis, symmetrically displaced by ±21–25% from the focus. The transport-of-intensity equation is interpreted in a geometrical sense from plane to plane and implemented as a ray tracing code, to retrieve the phase Φ(r) from the radial intensity gradient on a sub-pixel scale. For reasons of statistical reliability, five intra-/extra-focal CCD image pairs are evaluated and averaged to an annular two-dimensional map of the wavefront error {cal W}. In units of the test wavelength (C Kα), an r.m.s. value sigma_{cal{W}} = ±10.9λ0 and a peak-to-valley amplitude of ±31.3λ0 are obtained. By means of the wavefront, the focus is first reconstructed with a result for its diameter of 38.4 µm, close to the direct experimental observation of 39.4 µm (FWHM). Secondly, figure and slope errors of the ellipsoid are characterized with an average of ±1.14 µm and ±8.8 arcsec (r.m.s.), respectively, the latter in reasonable agreement with the measured focal intensity distribution. The findings enable, amongst others, the precise alignment of axisymmetric X-ray mirrors or the design of a wavefront corrector for high-resolution X-ray science.

Small-angle-scattering tensor tomography is a technique for studying anisotropic nanostructures of millimetre-sized samples in a volume-resolved manner. It requires the acquisition of data through repeated tomographic rotations about an axis which is subjected to a series of tilts. The tilt that can be achieved with a typical setup is geometrically constrained, which leads to limits in the set of directions from which the different parts of the reciprocal space map can be probed. Here, we characterize the impact of this limitation on reconstructions in terms of the missing wedge problem of tomography, by treating the problem of tensor tomography as the reconstruction of a three-dimensional field of functions on the unit sphere, represented by a grid of Gaussian radial basis functions. We then devise an acquisition scheme to obtain complete data by remounting the sample, which we apply to a sample of human trabecular bone. Performing tensor tomographic reconstructions of limited data sets as well as the complete data set, we further investigate and validate the missing wedge problem by investigating reconstruction errors due to data incompleteness across both real and reciprocal space. Finally, we carry out an analysis of orientations and derived scalar quantities, to quantify the impact of this missing wedge problem on a typical tensor tomographic analysis. We conclude that the effects of data incompleteness are consistent with the predicted impact of the missing wedge problem, and that the impact on tensor tomographic analysis is appreciable but limited, especially if precautions are taken. In particular, there is only limited impact on the means and relative anisotropies of the reconstructed reciprocal space maps.

In the title mol­ecule, C21H15N3OS, the C5=C6 double bond in the central enone group adopts a trans configuration. The dihedral angle between planes of the thia­zole and pyrazole rings is 6.6 (2)°. In the crystal, pairs of C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate inversion dimers and another pair of C—H⋯N hydrogen bonds link the dimers into chains propagating along a-axis direction.

The structure of the title solvated porphyrin, C56H38N8O2·C6H14, is reported. Two porphyrin mol­ecules, one ordered and one disordered n-hexane solvate mol­ecules are present in its asymmetric unit. The porphyrin macrocycle shows a characteristic saddle-shaped distortion, and the maximum deviation from the mean plane for non-hydrogen atoms is 0.48 Å. N—H⋯N, N—H⋯O, and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, as well as π–π inter­actions, are observed in the crystal structure.

In the title complex salt, [Pd(C10H8N2)(C12H12N2O2)](CF3SO3)2, the palladium(II) atom is fourfold coordinated by two chelating ligands, 2,2'-bi­pyridine and 4,4'-dimeth­oxy-2,2'-bi­pyridine, in a distorted square-planar environment. In the crystal, weak π–π stacking inter­actions between the 2,2'-bi­pyridine rings [centroid-to-centroid distances = 3.8984 (19) Å] and between the 4,4'-dimeth­oxy-2,2'-bi­pyridine rings [centroid-to-centroid distances = 3.747 (18) Å] contribute to the alignment of the complex cations in columns parallel to the b-axis direction.

The title compound, C22H24N2O2, crystallizes in space group P21/n. The mol­ecular structure is almost planar except for a tilt of the phenyl rings. The allyl groups on both ends exhibit the trans-form and the connected N atoms show sp2 character. The mol­ecules are stacked and assembled along the c-axis direction by C—H⋯π inter­actions.

The PdII complex bis­{(S)-(−)-N-[(biphenyl-2-yl)methyl­idene]1-(4-meth­oxy­phen­yl)ethanamine-κN}di­chlorido­palladium(II), [PdCl2(C22H21NO)2], crystallizes in the monoclinic Sohncke space group P21 with a single mol­ecule in the asymmetric unit. The coordination environment around the palladium is slightly distorted square planar. The N—Pd—Cl bond angles are 91.85 (19), 88.10 (17), 89.96 (18), and 90.0 (2)°, while the Pd—Cl and Pd—N bond lengths are 2.310 (2) and 2.315 (2) Å and 2.015 (2) and 2.022 (6) Å, respectively. The crystal structure features inter­molecular N—H⋯Cl and intramolecular C—H⋯Pd inter­actions, which lead to the formation of a supramolecular framework structure.

In the title compound, C26H22N2O3, the dihedral angle between the benzene and pyrazole rings of the chalcone unit is 88.3 (1)°. The pyrazole ring has two attached phenyl rings that form dihedral angles with the pyrazole ring of 22.6 (2) and 40.0 (1)°. In the crystal, pairwise C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds generate R22(20) inversion dimers.

The title compound, [Zn2(C6H8O4)2(C10H9N3)2]·3H2O or {Zn2[(C5H4N)2NH]2[μ-(CH2)4(COO)2]2}·3H2O, was separ­ated from the solvothermal reaction of zinc(II) sulfate hepta­hydrate, 2,2'-di­pyridyl­amine and sodium adipate. The dinuclear metal complex has a centrosymmetric structure, with the ZnII atom adopting a highly distorted octa­hedral coordination sphere composed of four oxygen atoms from bridging adipato ligands and two pyridine nitro­gen atoms. In the crystal, the title compound aggregates into a tri-periodic supra­molecular structure through inter­molecular hydrogen-bonding networks of the form O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O.

In the title compound, C6H10N2O2, the piperazine-2,3-dione ring adopts a half-chair conformation. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming (010) sheets.

The crystal structure of a new 1:1 cocrystal of carbamazepine and S-naproxen (C15H12N2O·C14H14O3) was solved from powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). The PXRD pattern was measured at the high-resolution beamline CRISTAL at synchrotron SOLEIL (France). The structure was solved using Monte Carlo simulated annealing, then refined with Rietveld refinement. The positions of the H atoms were obtained from density functional theory (DFT) ground-state calculations. The symmetry is ortho­rhom­bic with the space group P212121 (No. 19) and the following lattice parameters: a = 33.5486 (9), b = 26.4223 (6), c = 5.3651 (10) Å and V = 4755.83 (19) Å3.

The influence of the crystal synthesis method on the crystallographic structure of caffeine–citric acid co­crystals was analyzed thanks to the synthesis of a new polymorphic form of the cocrystal. In order to com­pare the new form to the already known forms, the crystal structure of the new cocrystal (C8H10N4O2·C6H8O7) was solved by powder X-ray diffraction thanks to synchrotron experiments. The structure determination was performed using `GALLOP', a recently developed hybrid approach based on a local optimization with a particle swarm optimizer, particularly powerful when applied to the structure resolution of materials of pharmaceutical inter­est, com­pared to classical Monte-Carlo simulated annealing. The final structure was obtained through Rietveld refinement, and first-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations were used to locate the H atoms. The symmetry is triclinic with the space group Poverline{1} and contains one mol­ecule of caffeine and one mol­ecule of citric acid per asymmetric unit. The crystallographic structure of this cocrystal involves different hydrogen-bond associations com­pared to the already known structures. The analysis of these hydrogen bonds indicates that the cocrystal obtained here is less stable than the co­crystals already identified in the literature. This analysis is confirmed by the determination of the melting point of this cocrystal, which is lower than that of the previously known co­crystals.

Electron cryo-microscopy image-processing workflows are typically composed of elements that may, broadly speaking, be categorized as high-throughput workloads which transition to high-performance workloads as preprocessed data are aggregated. The high-throughput elements are of particular importance in the context of live processing, where an optimal response is highly coupled to the temporal profile of the data collection. In other words, each movie should be processed as quickly as possible at the earliest opportunity. The high level of disconnected parallelization in the high-throughput problem directly allows a completely scalable solution across a distributed computer system, with the only technical obstacle being an efficient and reliable implementation. The cloud computing frameworks primarily developed for the deployment of high-availability web applications provide an environment with a number of appealing features for such high-throughput processing tasks. Here, an implementation of an early-stage processing pipeline for electron cryotomography experiments using a service-based architecture deployed on a Kubernetes cluster is discussed in order to demonstrate the benefits of this approach and how it may be extended to scenarios of considerably increased complexity.

Data acquisition and processing for cryo-electron tomography can be a significant bottleneck for users. To simplify and streamline the cryo-ET workflow, Tomo Live, an on-the-fly solution that automates the alignment and reconstruction of tilt-series data, enabling real-time data-quality assessment, has been developed. Through the integration of Tomo Live into the data-acquisition workflow for cryo-ET, motion correction is performed directly after each of the acquired tilt angles. Immediately after the tilt-series acquisition has completed, an unattended tilt-series alignment and reconstruction into a 3D volume is performed. The results are displayed in real time in a dedicated remote web platform that runs on the microscope hardware. Through this web platform, users can review the acquired data (aligned stack and 3D volume) and several quality metrics that are obtained during the alignment and reconstruction process. These quality metrics can be used for fast feedback for subsequent acquisitions to save time. Parameters such as Alignment Accuracy, Deleted Tilts and Tilt Axis Correction Angle are visualized as graphs and can be used as filters to export only the best tomograms (raw data, reconstruction and intermediate data) for further processing. Here, the Tomo Live algorithms and workflow are described and representative results on several biological samples are presented. The Tomo Live workflow is accessible to both expert and non-expert users, making it a valuable tool for the continued advancement of structural biology, cell biology and histology.

Fatty acid-derivative prodrugs have been utilized extensively to improve the physicochemical, biopharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic properties of active pharmaceutical ingredients. However, to our knowledge, the crystallization behavior of prodrugs modified with different fatty acids has not been explored. In the present work, a series of paliperidone aliphatic prodrugs with alkyl chain lengths ranging from C4 to C16 was investigated with respect to crystal structure, crystal morphology and crystallization kinetics. The paliperidone derivatives exhibited isostructural crystal packing, despite the different alkyl chain lengths, and crystallized with the dominant (100) face in both melt and solution. The rate of crystallization for paliperidone derivatives in the melt increases with alkyl chain length owing to greater molecular mobility. In contrast, the longer chains prolong the nucleation induction time and reduce the crystal growth kinetics in solution. The results show a correlation between difficulty of nucleation in solution and the interfacial energy. This work provides insight into the crystallization behavior of paliperidone aliphatic prodrugs and reveals that the role of alkyl chain length in the crystallization behavior has a strong dependence on the crystallization method.

The structures of the simplest symmetric primary ethers [(CnH2n+1)2O, n = 1–3] determined under high pressure revealed their conformational preferences and intermolecular interactions. In three new polymorphs of di­ethyl ether (C2H5)2O, high pressure promotes intermolecular CH⋯O contacts and enforces a conversion from the trans–trans conformer present in the α, β and γ phases to the trans–gauche conformer, which is higher in energy by 6.4 kJ mol−1, in the δ phase. Two new polymorphs of di­methyl ether (CH3)2O display analogous transformations of the CH⋯O bonds. The crystal structure of di-n-propyl ether (C3H7)2O, determined for the first time, is remarkably stable over the whole pressure range investigated from 1.70 up to 5.30 GPa.

The discovery of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs), a family of copper-dependent enzymes that play a major role in polysaccharide degradation, has revealed the importance of oxidoreductases in the biological utilization of biomass. In fungi, a range of redox proteins have been implicated as working in harness with LPMOs to bring about polysaccharide oxidation. In bacteria, less is known about the interplay between redox proteins and LPMOs, or how the interaction between the two contributes to polysaccharide degradation. We therefore set out to characterize two previously unstudied proteins from the shipworm symbiont Teredinibacter turnerae that were initially identified by the presence of carbohydrate binding domains appended to uncharacterized domains with probable redox functions. Here, X-ray crystal structures of several domains from these proteins are presented together with initial efforts to characterize their functions. The analysis suggests that the target proteins are unlikely to function as LPMO electron donors, raising new questions as to the potential redox functions that these large extracellular multi-haem-containing c-type cytochromes may perform in these bacteria.

Dynamical refinement is a well established method for refining crystal structures against 3D electron diffraction (ED) data and its benefits have been discussed in the literature [Palatinus, Petříček & Corrêa, (2015). Acta Cryst. A71, 235–244; Palatinus, Corrêa et al. (2015). Acta Cryst. B71, 740–751]. However, until now, dynamical refinements have only been conducted using the independent atom model (IAM). Recent research has shown that a more accurate description can be achieved by applying the transferable aspherical atom model (TAAM), but this has been limited only to kinematical refinements [Gruza et al. (2020). Acta Cryst. A76, 92–109; Jha et al. (2021). J. Appl. Cryst. 54, 1234–1243]. In this study, we combine dynamical refinement with TAAM for the crystal structure of 1-methyl­uracil, using data from precession ED. Our results show that this approach improves the residual Fourier electrostatic potential and refinement figures of merit. Furthermore, it leads to systematic changes in the atomic displacement parameters of all atoms and the positions of hydrogen atoms. We found that the refinement results are sensitive to the parameters used in the TAAM modelling process. Though our results show that TAAM offers superior performance compared with IAM in all cases, they also show that TAAM parameters obtained by periodic DFT calculations on the refined structure are superior to the TAAM parameters from the UBDB/MATTS database. It appears that multipolar parameters transferred from the database may not be sufficiently accurate to provide a satisfactory description of all details of the electrostatic potential probed by the 3D ED experiment.

Appreciating that the role of the solute–solvent and other outer-sphere interactions is essential for understanding chemistry and chemical dynamics in solution, experimental approaches are needed to address the structural consequences of these interactions, complementing condensed-matter simulations and coarse-grained theories. High-energy X-ray scattering (HEXS) combined with pair distribution function analysis presents the opportunity to probe these structures directly and to develop quantitative, atomistic models of molecular systems in situ in the solution phase. However, at concentrations relevant to solution-phase chemistry, the total scattering signal is dominated by the bulk solvent, prompting researchers to adopt a differential approach to eliminate this unwanted background. Though similar approaches are well established in quantitative structural studies of macromolecules in solution by small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS/WAXS), analogous studies in the HEXS regime—where sub-ångström spatial resolution is achieved—remain underdeveloped, in part due to the lack of a rigorous theoretical description of the experiment. To address this, herein we develop a framework for differential solution scattering experiments conducted at high energies, which includes concepts of the solvent-excluded volume introduced to describe SAXS/WAXS data, as well as concepts from the time-resolved X-ray scattering community. Our theory is supported by numerical simulations and experiment and paves the way for establishing quantitative methods to determine the atomic structures of small molecules in solution with resolution approaching that of crystallography.

The functionality and efficiency of proteins within a biological membrane are highly dependent on both the membrane lipid composition and the physiochemical properties of the solution. Lipid mesophases are directly influenced by changes in temperature, pH, water content or due to individual properties of single lipids such as photoswitchability. In this work, we were able to induce light- and temperature-driven mesophase transitions in a model membrane system containing a mixture of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine phospho­lipids and azo­benzene amphiphiles. We observed reversible and reproducible transitions between the lamellar and Pn3m cubic phase after illuminating the sample for 5 min with light of 365 and 455 nm wavelengths, respectively, to switch between the cis and trans states of the azo­benzene N=N double bond. These light-controlled mesophase transitions were found for mixed complexes with up to 20% content of the photosensitive molecule and at temperatures below the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition temperature of 33°C. Our results demonstrate the potential to design bespoke model systems to study the response of membrane lipids and proteins upon changes in mesophase without altering the environment and thus provide a possible basis for drug delivery systems.

This study examines various methods for modelling the electron density and, thus, the electrostatic potential of an organometallic complex for use in crystal structure refinement against 3D electron diffraction (ED) data. It focuses on modelling the scattering factors of iron(III), considering the electron density distribution specific for coordination with organic linkers. We refined the structural model of the metal–organic complex, iron(III) acetyl­acetonate (FeAcAc), using both the independent atom model (IAM) and the transferable aspherical atom model (TAAM). TAAM refinement initially employed multipolar parameters from the MATTS databank for acetyl­acetonate, while iron was modelled with a spherical and neutral approach (TAAM ligand). Later, custom-made TAAM scattering factors for Fe—O coordination were derived from DFT calculations [TAAM-ligand-Fe(III)]. Our findings show that, in this compound, the TAAM scattering factor corresponding to Fe3+ has a lower scattering amplitude than the Fe3+ charged scattering factor described by IAM. When using scattering factors corresponding to the oxidation state of iron, IAM inaccurately represents electrostatic potential maps and overestimates the scattering potential of the iron. In addition, TAAM significantly improved the fitting of the model to the data, shown by improved R1 values, goodness-of-fit (GooF) and reduced noise in the Fourier difference map (based on the residual distribution analysis). For 3D ED, R1 values improved from 19.36% (IAM) to 17.44% (TAAM-ligand) and 17.49% (TAAM-ligand-Fe3+), and for single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) from 3.82 to 2.03% and 1.98%, respectively. For 3D ED, the most significant R1 reductions occurred in the low-resolution region (8.65–2.00 Å), dropping from 20.19% (IAM) to 14.67% and 14.89% for TAAM-ligand and TAAM-ligand-Fe(III), respectively, with less improvement in high-resolution ranges (2.00–0.85 Å). This indicates that the major enhancements are due to better scattering modelling in low-resolution zones. Furthermore, when using TAAM instead of IAM, there was a noticeable improvement in the shape of the thermal ellipsoids, which more closely resembled those of an SCXRD-refined model. This study demonstrates the applicability of more sophisticated scattering factors to improve the refinement of metal–organic complexes against 3D ED data, suggesting the need for more accurate modelling methods and highlighting the potential of TAAM in examining the charge distribution of large molecular structures using 3D ED.

A pressure-induced triclinic-to-monoclinic phase transition has been caught `in the act' over a wider series of high-pressure synchrotron diffraction experiments conducted on a large, photoluminescent organo-gold(I) compound. Here, we describe the mechanism of this single-crystal-to-single-crystal phase transition, the onset of which occurs at ∼0.6 GPa, and we report a high-quality structure of the new monoclinic phase, refined using aspherical atomic scattering factors. Our case illustrates how conducting a fast series of diffraction experiments, enabled by modern equipment at synchrotron facilities, can lead to overestimation of the actual pressure of a phase transition due to slow transformation kinetics.

X-ray and neutron crystallography, as well as cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM), are the most common methods to obtain atomic structures of biological macromolecules. A feature they all have in common is that, at typical resolutions, the experimental data need to be supplemented by empirical restraints, ensuring that the final structure is chemically reasonable. The restraints are accurate for amino acids and nucleic acids, but often less accurate for substrates, inhibitors, small-molecule ligands and metal sites, for which experimental data are scarce or empirical potentials are harder to formulate. This can be solved using quantum mechanical calculations for a small but interesting part of the structure. Such an approach, called quantum refinement, has been shown to improve structures locally, allow the determination of the protonation and oxidation states of ligands and metals, and discriminate between different interpretations of the structure. Here, we present a new implementation of quantum refinement interfacing the widely used structure-refinement software Phenix and the freely available quantum mechanical software ORCA. Through application to manganese superoxide dismutase and V- and Fe-nitro­genase, we show that the approach works effectively for X-ray and neutron crystal structures, that old results can be reproduced and structural discrimination can be performed. We discuss how the weight factor between the experimental data and the empirical restraints should be selected and how quantum mechanical quality measures such as strain energies should be calculated. We also present an application of quantum refinement to cryo-EM data for particulate methane monooxygenase and show that this may be the method of choice for metal sites in such structures because no accurate empirical restraints are currently available for metals.

In recent decades, sustained theoretical and software developments have clearly established that representation analysis and magnetic symmetry groups are complementary concepts that should be used together in the investigation and description of magnetic structures. Historically, they were considered alternative approaches, but currently, magnetic space groups and magnetic superspace groups can be routinely used together with representation analysis, aided by state-of-the-art software tools. After exploring the historical antagonism between these two approaches, we emphasize the significant advancements made in understanding and formally describing magnetic structures by embracing their combined use.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, μ-biphenyl-4,4'-di­sulfonato-bis­(aqua­lithium), [Li2(C12H8O6S2)(H2O)2] or Li2[Bph(SO3)2](H2O)2, consists of an Li ion, half of the diphenyl-4,4'-di­sulfonate [Bph(SO3−)2] ligand, and a water mol­ecule. The Li ion exhibits a four-coordinate tetra­hedral geometry with three oxygen atoms of the Bph(SO3−)2 ligands and a water mol­ecule. The tetra­hedral LiO4 units, which are inter­connected by biphenyl moieties, form a layer structure parallel to (100). These layers are further connected by hydrogen-bonding inter­actions to yield a three-dimensional network.

In the title compound, C25H25NO7S, the mol­ecular conformation is stabilized by intra­molecular O—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, which form S(6) and S(8) ring motifs, respectively. The mol­ecules are bent at the S atom with a C—SO2—NH—C torsion angle of −70.86 (11)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules are linked by C—H⋯O and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming mol­ecular layers parallel to the (100) plane. C—H⋯π inter­actions are observed between these layers.

The complex, tri­chlorido­(1,4,11-tri­aza-8-azonia­tetra­cyclo­[6.6.2.04,16.011,15]hexa­decane 1-oxide-κO)zinc(II) monohydrate, [ZnCl3(C12H23N4O)]·H2O, (I), has monoclinic symmetry (space group P21/n) at 120 K. The zinc(II) center adopts a slightly distorted tetra­hedral coordination geometry and is coordinated by three chlorine atoms and the oxygen atom of the oxidized tertiary amine of the tetra­cycle. The amine nitro­gen atom, inside the ligand cleft, is protonated and forms a hydrogen bond to the oxygen of the amine oxide. Additional hydrogen-bonding inter­actions involve the protonated amine, the water solvate oxygen atom, and one of the chloro ligands.

In the crystal of the title compound, C18H14O10·2H2O, the arene rings of the biphenyl moiety are tilted at an angle of 24.3 (1)°, while the planes passing through the carboxyl groups are rotated at angles of 8.6 (1) and 7.7 (1)° out of the plane of the benzene ring to which they are attached. The crystal structure is essentially stabilized by O—H⋯O bonds. Here, the carboxyl groups of neighbouring host mol­ecules are connected by cyclic R22(8) synthons, leading to the formation of a three-dimensional network. The water mol­ecules in turn form helical supra­molecular strands running in the direction of the crystallographic c-axis (chain-like water clusters). The second H atom of each water mol­ecule provides a link to a meth­oxy O atom of the host mol­ecule. A Hirshfeld surface analysis was performed to qu­antify the contributions of the different inter­molecular inter­actions, indicating that the most important contributions to the crystal packing are from H⋯O/O⋯H (37.0%), H⋯H (26.3%), H⋯C/C⋯H (18.5%) and C⋯O/O⋯C (9.5%) inter­actions.

Tri­chlorido­(4-methyl­piperidine)­gold(III), [AuCl3(C6H13N)], 1, crystallizes in Pbca with Z = 8. Tri­bromido­(4-methyl­piperidine)­gold(III), [AuBr3(C6H13N)], 2, crystallizes as two polymorphs, 2a in Pnma with Z = 4 (imposed mirror symmetry) and 2b, which is isotypic to 1. The Au—N bonds trans to Cl are somewhat shorter than those trans to Br, and the Au—Cl bonds trans to N are longer than those cis to N, whereas the Au—Br bonds trans to N are slightly shorter than the cis bonds. The methyl and AuX3 groups (X = halogen) occupy equatorial positions at the six-membered ring. The packing of all three structures involves chains of mol­ecules with offset stacking of the AuX3 moieties associated with short Au⋯X contacts; for 1 and 2b these are reinforced by N—H⋯X hydrogen bonds, whereas for 2a there are no classical hydrogen bonds and the chains are inter­connected by Br⋯Br contacts.

In the title compound, C20H17BrO5S, mol­ecules are connected by inter­molecular C—H⋯S hydrogen bonds with R22(10) ring motifs, forming ribbons along the b-axis direction. C—H⋯π inter­actions consolidate the ribbon structure while van der Waals forces between the ribbons ensure the cohesion of the crystal structure. According to a Hirshfeld surface analysis, H⋯H (40.5%), O⋯H/H⋯O (27.0%), C⋯H/H⋯C (13.9%) and Br⋯H/H⋯Br (11.7%) inter­actions are the most significant contributors to the crystal packing. The thio­phene ring and its adjacent di­carboxyl­ate group and the three adjacent carbon atoms of the central hexene ring to which they are attached were refined as disordered over two sets of sites having occupancies of 0.8378 (15) and 0.1622 (15). The thio­phene group is disordered by a rotation of 180° around one bond.

Reaction of Co(NCS)2 with 2-methyl­pyridine N-oxide in a 1:3 ratio in n-butanol leads to the formation of crystals of tris­(2-methyl­pyridine N-oxide-κO)bis­(thio­cyanato-κN)cobalt(II), [Co(NCS)2(C6H7NO)3]. The asymmetric unit of the title compound consists of one CoII cation two thio­cyanate anions and three crystallographically independent 2-methyl­pyridine N-oxide coligands in general positions. The CoII cations are trigonal–bipyramidally coordinated by two terminal N-bonding thio­cyanate anions in the trans-positions and three 2-methyl­pyridine N-oxide coligands into discrete complexes. These complexes are linked by inter­molecular C–H⋯S inter­actions into double chains that elongate in the c-axis direction. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD) measurements prove that all batches are always contaminated with an additional and unknown crystalline phase. Thermogravimetry and differential analysis of crystals selected by hand reveal that the title compound decomposes at about 229°C in an exothermic reaction. At about 113°C a small endothermic signal is observed that, according to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, is irreversible. PXRD measurements of the residue prove that a poorly crystalline and unknown phase has formed and thermomicroscopy indicates that some phase transition occurs that is accompanied with a color change of the title compound.

In the title mol­ecule, C21H17N3O2, the five-membered ring is slightly ruffled and dihedral angles between the pendant six-membered rings and the central, five-membered ring vary between 50.78 (4) and 86.78 (10)°. The exocyclic nitro­gen lone pair is involved in conjugated π bonding to the five-membered ring. In the crystal, a layered structure is generated by O—H⋯N and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds plus C—H⋯π(ring) and weak π-stacking inter­actions.

The calixarenes, 5,17-di­bromo-26,28-dihy­droxy-25,27-dipropynyloxycalix[4]arene (C34H26Br2O4, 1), 5,17-di­bromo-26,28-dipropoxy-25,27-dipropynyloxycalix[4]arene (C40H38Br2O4, 2) and 25,27-bis­(2-azido­eth­oxy)-5,17-di­bromo-26,28-di­hydroxy­calix[4]arene (C32H28Br2N6O4, 3) possess a pinched cone mol­ecular shape for 1 and 3, and a 1,3-alternate shape for compound 2. In calixarenes 1 and 3, the cone conformations are additionally stabilized by intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, while in calixarene 2 intra­molecular Br⋯Br inter­actions consolidate the 1,3-alternate mol­ecular conformation. The dense crystal packing of the cone dialkyne 1 is a consequence of π–π, C—H⋯π and C—H⋯O inter­actions. In the crystal of the diazide 3, there are large channels extending parallel to the c axis, which are filled by highly disordered CH2Cl2 solvent mol­ecules. Their contribution to the intensity data was removed by the SQUEEZE procedure that showed an accessible void volume of 585 Å3 where there is room for 4.5 CH2Cl2 solvent mol­ecules per unit cell. Rigid mol­ecules of the 1,3-alternate calixarene 2 form a columnar head-to-tail packing parallel to [010] via van der Waals inter­actions, and the resulting columns are held together by weak C—H⋯π contacts.

4,4'-(Disulfanedi­yl)dipyridinium chloride triiodide, C10H10N2S22+·Cl−·I3−, (1) was synthesized by reaction of 4,4'-di­pyridyl­disulfide with ICl in a 1:1 molar ratio in di­chloro­methane solution. The structural characterization of 1 by SC-XRD analysis was supported by elemental analysis, FT–IR, and FT–Raman spectroscopic measurements.

The crystal structures of 2-[1'-(carb­oxy­meth­yl)-4,4'-bi­pyridine-1,1'-diium-1-yl]acetate tetra­fluoro­borate, C14H13N2O4+·BF4− or (Hbcbpy)(BF4), and neutral 1,1'-bis­(carboxyl­atometh­yl)-4,4'-bi­pyridine-1,1'-diium (bcbpy), C14H20N2O8, are reported. The asymmetric unit of the (Hbcbpy)(BF4) consists of a Hbcbpy+ monocation, a BF4− anion, and one-half of a water mol­ecule. The BF4− anion is disordered. Two pyridinium rings of the Hbcbpy+ monocation are twisted at a torsion angle of 30.3 (2)° with respect to each other. The Hbcbpy monocation contains a carb­oxy­lic acid group and a deprotonated carboxyl­ate group. Both groups exhibit both a long and a short C—O bond. The cations are linked by inter­molecular hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between the carb­oxy­lic acid and the deprotonated carboxyl­ate group to give one-dimensional zigzag chains. The asymmetric unit of the neutral bcbpy consists of one-half of the bcbpy and two water mol­ecules. In contrast to the Hbcbpy+ monocation, the neutral bcbpy mol­ecule contains two pyridinium rings that are coplanar with each other and a carboxyl­ate group with similar C—O bond lengths. The mol­ecules are connected by inter­molecular hydrogen-bonding inter­actions between water mol­ecules and carboxyl­ate groups, forming a three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network.

The oxidation of me­thionyl peptides can contribute to increased biological (oxidative) stress and development of various inflammatory diseases. The conformation of peptides has an important role in the mechanism of oxidation and the inter­mediates formed in the reaction. Herein, the crystal structures of the isomeric dipeptides Gly-Met (Gly = glycine and Met = me­thio­nine) and Met-Gly, both C7H14N2O3S, are reported. Both mol­ecules exist in the solid state as zwitterions with nominal proton transfer from the carb­oxy­lic acid to the primary amine group. The Gly-Met mol­ecule has an extended backbone structure, while Met-Gly has two nearly planar regions kinked at the C atom bearing the NH3 group. In the crystals, both structures form extensive three-dimensional hydrogen-bonding networks via N—H⋯O and bifurcated N—H⋯(O,O) hydrogen bonds having N⋯O distances in the range 2.6619 (13)–2.8513 (13) Å for Gly-Met and 2.6273 (8)–3.1465 (8) Å for Met-Gly.

The title compound, [Re(C17H22N3O2S)(CO)3] is a net neutral fac-Re(I)(CO)3 complex of the 4-methyl­biphenyl sulfonamide derivatized di­ethyl­enetri­amine ligand. The NNN-donor monoanionic ligand coordinates with the Re core in tridentate fashion, establishing an inner coordination sphere resulting in a net neutral complex. The complex possesses pseudo-octa­hedral geometry where one face of the octa­hedron is occupied by three carbonyl ligands and the other faces are occupied by one sp2 nitro­gen atom of the sulfonamide group and two sp3 nitro­gen atoms of the dien backbone. The Re—Nsp2 bond distance, 2.173 (4) Å, is shorter than the Re—Nsp3 bond distances, 2.217 (5) and 2.228 (6) Å, and is similar to the range reported for typical Re—Nsp2 bond lengths (2.14 to 2.18 Å).

The di­hydro­imidazole ring in the title mol­ecule, C20H20N2O3S, is slightly distorted and the lone pair on the tri-coordinate nitro­gen atom is involved in intra-ring π bonding. The methyl­sulfanyl substituent lies nearly in the plane of the five-membered ring while the ester substituent is rotated well out of that plane. In the crystal, C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds form inversion dimers, which are connected along the a- and c-axis directions by additional C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming layers parallel to the ac plane. The major contributors to the Hirshfeld surface are C⋯H/H⋯C, O⋯H/H⋯O and S⋯H/H⋯S contacts at 20.5%, 14.7% and 4.9%, respectively.

In the title compound, bis­[aqua­(2,2'-bi­pyridine)­fluorido­tin(II)] hexa­fluorido­tin(IV), [SnF(C10H8N2)(H2O)]2[SnF6], an ionic mixed-valent tin(II)–tin(IV) compound, the bivalent tin atom is the center atom of the cation and the tetra­valent tin atom is the center atom of the anion. With respect to the first coordination sphere, the cation is monomeric, with the tin(II) atom having a fourfold seesaw coordination with a fluorine atom in an equatorial position, a water mol­ecule in an axial position and the two nitro­gen atoms of the chelating 2,2'-bi­pyridine ligand in the remaining axial and equatorial positions. The bond lengths and angles of this hypervalent first coordination sphere are described by 2c–2e and 3c–4e bonds, respectively, all of which are based on the orthogonal 5p orbitals of the tin atom. In the second coordination sphere, which is based on an additional, very long tin–fluorine bond that leads to dimerization of the cation, the tin atom is trapezoidal–pyramidally coordinated. The tetra­valent tin atom of the centrosymmetric anion has an octa­hedral coordination. The differences in its tin–fluorine bond lengths are attributed to hydrogen bonding, as the two of the four fluorine atoms are each involved in two hydrogen bonds, linking anions and cations together to form strands.

The crystal structure of hexa­glycinium tetra-μ-iodido-octa­iodido­triplumbate, (C2H6NO2)6[Pb3I12] or (GlyH)6[Pb3I12], is reported. The compound crystallizes in the triclinic space group Poverline{1}. The [Pb3I12]6− anion is discrete and located around a special position: the central Pb ion located on the inversion center is holodirected, while the other two are hemidirected. The supra­molecular nature is mainly based on C—H⋯I, N—H⋯I, O—H⋯I and N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. Dimeric cations of type (A+⋯A+) for the amino acid glycine are observed for the first time.

The two mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit of the title compound, C23H24N2O2S, have a structural overlap with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.82 Å. The piperidine rings adopt a distorted boat conformation. Intra- and inter­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds are responsible for the cohesion of the crystal packing. The inter­molecular inter­actions were qu­anti­fied and analysed using Hirshfeld surface analysis. The mol­ecular structure optimized by density functional theory (DFT) at the B3LYP/6–311++G(d,p)level is compared with the experimentally determined mol­ecular structure in the solid state.

In the title compound, C27H19O3N, the dihedral angle between the aromatic rings of the biphenyl unit is 38.14 (2)° and the C—O—C—C torsion angle in the benz­yloxy benzene fragment is 179.1 (2)°. In the crystal, the mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯O inter­actions forming S(9) chains propagating along [010]. The most important contributions to the Hirshfeld surface arise from H⋯H (32.4%) and C⋯H/H⋯C (37.0%) contacts.

This work describes the X-ray structure of orange–red crystals of 2-meth­oxy-5-nitro­aniline, C7H8N2O3. The compound displays concentration-dependent UV-Vis spectra, which is attributed to dipole-induced aggregation, and light absorption arising from an inter­molecular charge-transfer process that decreases in energy as the degree of aggregation increases. The crystals display π-stacking where the dipole moments align anti­parallel. Stacked mol­ecules inter­act with the next stack via hydrogen bonds, which is a state of maximum aggregation. Light absorption by charge transfer can be compared to colored inorganic semiconductors such as orange–red CdS, with a band gap of 2.0–2.5 eV.

Crystal growth of 2-(3,4,5-triphen­ylphen­yl)acetic acid (1) from aceto­nitrile yields a monosolvate, C26H20O2·CH3CN, of the space group P1. In the crystal, the title mol­ecule adopts a conformation in which the three phenyl rings are arranged in a paddlewheel-like fashion around the central arene ring and the carboxyl residue is oriented nearly perpendicular to the plane of this benzene ring. Inversion-symmetric dimers of O—H⋯O-bonded mol­ecules of 1 represent the basic supra­molecular entities of the crystal structure. These dimeric mol­ecular units are further linked by C—H⋯O=C bonds to form one-dimensional supra­molecular aggregates running along the crystallographic [111] direction. Weak Car­yl—H⋯N inter­actions occur between the mol­ecules of 1 and aceto­nitrile.

In the title salt, C6H16N22+ ·H2P2O72−, the complete dication is generated by a crystallographic centre of symmetry with the methyl groups in equatorial orientations. The complete dianion is generated by a crystallographic twofold axis with the central O atom lying on the axis: the P—O—P bond angle is 135.50 (12)°. In the crystal, the di­hydrogen diphosphate anions are linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, generating (001) layers. The organic cations bond to the inorganic layers by way of N—H⋯O and C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. A Hirshfeld surface analysis shows that the most important contributions for the crystal packing are from O⋯H/H⋯O (60.5%) and H⋯H (39.4%) contacts.

Lopinavir is a potent protease inhibitor that is used as a first-line pharmaceutical drug for the treatment of HIV. The multi-component solvated Lopinavir crystal, systematic name (2S)-N-[(2S,4S,5S)-5-[2-(2,6-di­methyl­phen­oxy)acetamido]-4-hy­droxy-1,6-di­phenyl­hexan-2-yl]-3-methyl-2-(2-oxo-1,3-diazinan-1-yl)butanamide–ethane-1,2-diol–water (8/3/7) 8C37H48N4O5·3C2H6O2·7H2O, was prepared using evaporative methods. The crystalline material obtained from this experimental synthesis was characterized and elucidated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD). The crystal structure is unusual in that the unit cell contains 18 mol­ecules. The stoichiometric ratio of this crystal is eight Lopinavir mol­ecules [8(C37H48N4O5)], three ethane-1,2-diol mol­ecules [3(C2H6O2)] and seven water mol­ecules [7(H2O)]. The crystal packing features both bi- and trifurcated hydrogen bonds between atoms.

The major principles and requirements of asymmetric and inclined double-crystal monochromators are re-examined and presented to guide their design and development for significantly reducing heat load density and gradient on the monochromators of fourth-generation synchrotron light sources and X-ray free-electron lasers.

Rietveld refinements are widely used for many purposes in the physical sciences. Conducting a Rietveld refinement typically requires expert input because correct results may require that parameters be added to the fit in the proper order. This order will depend on the nature of the data and the initial parameter values. A mechanism for computing the next parameter to add to the refinement is shown. The fitting function is evaluated with the current parameter value set and each parameter incremented and decremented by a small offset. This provides the partial derivatives with respect to each parameter, along with information to discriminate meaningful values from numerical computational errors. The implementation of this mechanism in the open-source GSAS-II program is discussed. This new method is discussed as an important step towards the development of automated Rietveld refinement technology.