On Aug. 10 at the American Chemical Society Fall Meeting, Bruker AXS launched its SMART X2S (Crystal-to-Structure), which it says is the first benchtop X-ray crystallography system for fully automated three-dimensional (3D) chemical structure determination. Designed for use by chemists who have no special training in crystallography, the compact, affordable system is expected to appeal to many inorganic and organic chemists in biopharma and chemical companies, as well as in colleges and universities.
Traditional X-ray systems for 3D structure determination are floor-standing, require significant infrastructure and typically are installed in specialist X-ray crystallography centers. While molecular structure information is of tremendous benefit for chemists, the traditional need for trained crystallographers has made access to structural information inconvenient or expensive for many working chemists. Often they need to send samples away to an off-site crystallography service laboratory and wait days for the results, or they simply forego structural confirmation at certain stages of their research.
The SMART X2S, however, allows inorganic and organic chemists to produce atomic resolution, 3D structures of routine samples in their own laboratories quickly and easily at the touch of a button, according to Bruker. The SMART X2S takes small molecule structure determination to the next level of convenience by automating the previously difficult aspects of X-ray structure determination, from sample loading and alignment through data collection all the way to the mathematical structure solution.
Weighing less than 70 kg and requiring only 0.5 kW of standard single-phase AC power, the benchtop SMART X2S can be installed easily in any academic or industrial chemistry laboratory. It is also the most affordable crystallographic system available.
