Enclosed chambers for humidity control and sample containment in fiber diffraction

Abstract

A chamber and stretch frame for making fibers for diffraction is described. The chamber is made from a simple plastic cuvette with silicon nitride windows. It is suitable for maintaining constant humidity during fiber drying and data collection, and allows stretching of the fiber and exposure to magnetic fields during sample preparation. If necessary, it provides primary containment for toxic and infectious biological materials. The chamber has been used in fiber diffraction experiments with filamentous plant viruses and a yeast prion protein, and is shown to produce excellent orientation and to maintain hydration and order at the molecular level.