PROXIMA-1 beamline for macromolecular crystallography measurements at Synchrotron SOLEIL

The undulator beamline PROXIMA-1 at Synchrotron SOLEIL scheduled its first users in March 2008. The endstation is dedicated to biomolecular crystallography experiments, with a layout designed to favour anomalous data recording and studies of crystals with large cell dimensions. In 12 years, the beamline has accommodated 4267 shifts of 8 h and more than 6300 visitors. By the end of 2020, it saw 1039 identified published scientific papers referring to 1415 coordinates deposited in the Protein Data Bank. The current paper describes the PROXIMA-1 beamline, including the recent specific implementations developed for the sample environment. The setup installed in the experimental station contains numerous beam-shaping equipment, a chigeometry three-axis goniometer, a single-photon-counting pixel-array X-ray detector, combined with a medium-throughput sample exchange robot. As part of a standard experimental scheme, PROXIMA-1 can also be accessed via `mail-in' services or remotely.

Automated summary

The PROXIMA-1 undulator beamline at Synchrotron SOLEIL is dedicated to biomolecular crystallography experiments and has a layout designed to favor anomalous data recording and studies of crystals with large cell dimensions. Over 12 years, it has accommodated a large number of shifts and visitors, resulting in numerous published scientific papers and coordinates deposited in the Protein Data Bank. The beamline is equipped with advanced beam-shaping equipment, a three-axis goniometer, an X-ray detector, and a sample exchange robot, allowing for standard experimental schemes as well as remote or `mail-in' access.