Neutrons probe protein structure
DOI: 10.1063/1.3127980
Although x‐ray diffraction has for years been valuable in revealing the structure of biological molecules, some kinds of information have remained beyond the reach of x rays. More recently, neutron diffraction has been applied in biophysics, and some experimenters at Brookhaven National Laboratory have successfully used neutrons to map such large complexes as sciatic nerve membrane (myelin) as well as for the location of individual hydrogen positions on smaller, more ordered molecules such as the protein myoglobin. Most of the work has been done at the Brookhaven High Flux Reactor with equipment built by Benno Schoenborn of the BNL biology department.