SARS-CoV-2 is a zoonotic virus that has caused a pandemic of severe respiratory disease—COVID-19— within several months of its initial identification. Comparable to the first SARS-CoV, this novel coronavirus’s surface Spike (S) glycoprotein mediates cell entry via the human ACE-2 receptor, and, thus, is the principal target for the development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics.

The MD2 Microdiffractometer on 24-ID-E has been at NE-CAT for almost a decade.  In that time, it has been in constant use.  Previously, NE-CAT had purchased spare parts for both microdiffractometers in anticipation of minimizing downtime in the event of mechanical failure.  For the past several months, 24-ID-E users have noticed an increasing occurencing of an inability to center their samples which required intervention by beamtime staff.  This was eventually narrowed down to an increasingly frequent failure of the zoom on the 24-ID-E.

On February 18, 2020, in support of the COVID-19 outbreak, NE-CAT provided rapid access beamtime to researchers from the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research working on the the SARS-CoV-2 S glycoprotein receptor-binding-domain. The novel coronavirus's surface Spike (S) glycoprotein mediates cell entry via the human ACE-2 receptor, and is the principal target for the development of vaccines and immunotherapeutics.

Rapid Access Beamtime is available for all research projects related to COVID-19.

The first EIGER2 X 16M in the United States has arrived safely at NE-CAT.  This is the largest detector in the EIGER2 line with a 75 x 75 μm pixel and 18,093,576 pixels.  It will provide rapid and accurate photon counting. Pascal Hofer and Zachary Brown from Dectris are on-site for initial testing of the detector in the dry lab.  We can report that all 32 modules are alive.