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Experimental Methods in the
Physical Sciences
Thomas Lucatorto, John T. Yates,
and Kenneth Baldwin
Editors in Chief
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List of Contributors

Peter W. Albers, Evonik Technology & Infrastructure GmbH, Hanau (Wolfgang),


Germany
Carla Andreani, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”; Museo Storico della
Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy
C. Richard A. Catlow, UK Catalysis Hub, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot;
Cardiff Catalysis Institute, Department of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff;
Department of Chemistry, University College London, London, United Kingdom
Felix Fernandez-Alonso, ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot;
Department of Physics & Astronomy, University College London, London,
United Kingdom
Zoe Fisher, European Spallation Source; Department of Biology, Lund University,
Lund, Sweden
Malcolm Guthrie, European Spallation Source, Lund, Sweden
Louis Hennet, Conditions Extr^emes et Materiaux: Haute Temperature et Irradiation,
Orleans, France
ur Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum
Dirk Holland Moritz, Institut f€
ur Luft- und Raumfahrt, K€oln, Germany
f€
Andrew Jackson, European Spallation Source; Department of Chemistry, Lund
University, Lund, Sweden
Maths Karlsson, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, G€oteborg, Sweden
Andrey Kovalevsky, Biology and Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National
Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States
Matthew Krzystyniak, ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot;
Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
David Lennon, School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow,
United Kingdom
ur Materialphysik im Weltraum, Deutsches Zentrum f€
Andreas Meyer, Institut f€ ur
Luft- und Raumfahrt, K€oln, Germany
Masato Ohnuma, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Esko Oksanen, European Spallation Source; Department of Biochemistry and
Structural Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

xv
xvi List of Contributors

Alexander J. O’Malley, UK Catalysis Hub, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot;


Cardiff Catalysis Institute, Department of Chemistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff,
United Kingdom
Stewart F. Parker, ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot,
United Kingdom
Adrien Perrichon, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Chalmers
University of Technology, G€oteborg, Sweden
Giovanni Romanelli, ISIS Facility, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot,
United Kingdom
Olga Russina, Department of Chemistry, University of Rome “Sapienza”, Rome, Italy
Roberto Senesi, Università degli Studi di Roma “Tor Vergata”; Museo Storico della
Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome; Consiglio Nazionale delle
Ricerche, CNR-IPCF, Messina, Italy
Tilo Seydel, Institut Max von Laue – Paul Langevin, Grenoble, France
Mitsuhiro Shibayama, The University of Tokyo, The Institute for Solid State Physics,
Kashiwa, Chiba, Japan
Alan K. Soper, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton, United Kingdom
Alessandro Triolo, Istituto Struttura della Materia, Consiglio Nazionale delle
Ricerche, Rome, Italy
Hanna Wacklin, European Spallation Source; Department of Chemistry, Lund
University, Lund, Sweden
Xun-Li Wang, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Richard Weber, Materials Development, Inc., Arlington Heights, IL, United States
Wanchuck Woo, Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon, South Korea
Volumes in Series
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Volume 11. Solid State Physics
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xvii
xviii Volumes in Series

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Crystal Structure and Morphology; Part C: Physical Properties
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Volume 22. Solid State Physics: Surfaces


Edited by Robert L. Park and Max G. Lagally

Volume 23. Neutron Scattering (in three parts)


Edited by K. Skold and D. L. Price

Volume 24. Geophysics - Part A: Laboratory Measurements; Part B: Field


Measurements
Edited by C. G. Sammis and T. L. Henyey

Volume 25. Geometrical and Instrumental Optics


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Volume 26. Physical Optics and Light Measurements


Edited by Daniel Malacara
Volumes in Series xix

Volume 27. Scanning Tunneling Microscopy


Edited by Joseph Stroscio and William Kaiser

Volume 28. Statistical Methods for Physical Science


Edited by John L. Stanford and Stephen B. Vardaman

Volume 29. Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics - Part A: Charged


Particles; Part B: Atoms and Molecules; Part C: Electromagnetic Radiation
Edited by F. B. Dunning and Randall G. Hulet

Volume 30. Laser Ablation and Desorption


Edited by John C. Miller and Richard F. Haglund, Jr.

Volume 31. Vacuum Ultraviolet Spectroscopy I


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Volume 33. Cumulative Author lndex and Tables of Contents, Volumes 1-32

Volume 34. Cumulative Subject lndex

Volume 35. Methods in the Physics of Porous Media


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Volume 36. Magnetic Imaging and its Applications to Materials


Edited by Marc De Graef and Yimei Zhu

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Principles and Applications
Edited by Yi Ping Zhao, Gwo-Ching Wang, and Toh-Ming Lu

Volume 38. Advances in Surface Science


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Edited by Moises Levy, Henry E. Bass, and Richard Stern

Volume 40. Cavity-Enhanced Spectroscopies


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Volume 41. Optical Radiometry


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Volume 42. Radiometric Temperature Measurements. I. Fundamentals


Edited by Z. M. Zhang, B. K. Tsai, and G. Machin
xx Volumes in Series

Volume 43. Radiometric Temperature Measurements. II. Applications


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Volume 44. Neutron Scattering – Fundamentals


Edited by Felix Fernandez-Alonso and David L. Price

Volume 45. Single-Photon Generation and Detection


Edited by Alan Migdall, Sergey Polyakov, Jingyun Fan, and Joshua Bienfang

Volume 46. Spectrophotometry: Accurate Measurement of Optical Properties


of Materials
Edited by Thomas A. Germer, Joanne C. Zwinkels, and Benjamin K. Tsai

Volume 47. Optical Radiometry for Ocean Climate Measurements


Edited by Giuseppe Zibordi, Craig J. Donlon, and Albert C. Parr
Volume 48. Neutron Scattering - Magnetic and Quantum Phenomena
Edited by Felix Fernandez-Alonso and David L. Price
Volume 49. Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and
Materials Science
Edited by Felix Fernandez-Alonso and David L. Price
Preface

Just over 80 years ago, a brief letter from James Chadwick to Nature [1,2] pre-
sented conclusive experimental evidence unveiling the existence of a neutral
particle (nearly) isobaric with the proton. The discovery of the henceforth-to-
be-known-as “neutron” had profound consequences for both scientific research
and the destiny of humankind, as it led to the unleashing of the might of nuclear
power in less than a decade [3].
The first use of these “neutral protons” to probe the microscopic underpin-
nings of the materials world around us also dates back to those early years, with
pioneering neutron-diffraction experiments at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
(USA) in the mid 1940s, and the subsequent development of neutron spectros-
copy at Chalk River (Canada) in the 1950s. Since then, neutron-scattering
techniques have matured into a robust and increasingly versatile toolkit for phy-
sicists, chemists, biologists, materials scientists, engineers, and technologists.
At the turn of the last century, the 1994 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to
C.G. Shull and B.N. Brockhouse recognized their ground-breaking efforts
towards the development and consolidation of neutron science as a discipline
in its own right [4]. This milestone also served to define neutron scattering as
the technique par excellence to investigate where atoms are (structure) and
what atoms do (dynamics), a popular motto across generations of neutron-
scattering practitioners.
Sustained and continued developments in experimental methods over the
past few decades have greatly increased the sensitivity and range of applica-
tions of neutron scattering. While early measurements probed distances on
the order of interatomic spacings (fractions of a nm) and characteristic times
associated with lattice vibrations (picoseconds), contemporary neutron-
scattering experiments can cover length scales from less than 0.01 to 1000 s
of nanometers, and time scales from the attosecond to the microsecond. These
advances have been made possible via a significant expansion of the range of
neutron energies available to the experimenter, from micro-electron-volts
(particularly at cold sources in research reactors) to hundreds of electron-volts
(at pulsed spallation sources), as well as by unabated progress in the imple-
mentation of a variety of novel and ingenious ideas such as position- and
polarization-sensitive detection or back-scattering and spin-labeling methods.
As a result, neutron science has grown beyond traditional research areas, from
the conventional determination of crystal structures and lattice dynamics of
half-a-century ago (not to forget their magnetic analogs), to high-resolution

xxi
xxii Preface

structural studies of disordered thin films, liquid interfaces, biological struc-


tures, macromolecular and supramolecular architectures and devices, or the
unraveling of the dynamics and energy-level structure of complex molecular
solids, nanostructured materials and surfaces, or magnetic clusters and novel
superconductors. Along with these scientific and technical developments,
the community of neutron scientists has also expanded and diversified beyond
recognition. Whereas the early stages of neutron scattering had its roots in
condensed-matter physics and crystallography, present-day users of central
neutron-scattering facilities include chemists, biologists, ceramicists, and
metallurgists, to name a few, as well as physicists with an increasingly diverse
range of transdisciplinary interests, from the foundations of quantum mechan-
ics to soft matter, food science, biology, geology, or archeometry.
This book series seeks to cover in some detail the production and use of
neutrons across the aforementioned disciplines, with a particular emphasis
on technical and scientific developments over the past two decades. As such,
it necessarily builds upon an earlier and very successful three-volume set edi-
ted by K. Sk€ old and D.L. Price, published in the 1980s by Academic Press as
part of Methods of Experimental Physics (currently Experimental Methods in
the Physical Sciences). Furthermore, new third-generation spallation sources
have either been constructed in the United States and Japan, or are in the
advanced construction stage in China. Likewise, the development of long-
pulse, ultra-intense spallation neutron sources is well underway in Europe,
including the construction of the European Spallation Source. These global
efforts have been accompanied by an increasing interest in time-of-flight
and broadband neutron-scattering techniques. Correspondingly, the improved
performance of cold moderators at both reactors and spallation sources has
extended long-wavelength capabilities to such an extent that a sharp distinc-
tion between fission- and accelerator-driven neutron sources may no longer
be of relevance to the future of the discipline.
On a more practical front, the chapters that follow are meant to enable you
to identify aspects of your work in which neutron-scattering techniques might
contribute, conceive the important experiments to be done, assess what is
required to carry them out, write a successful proposal to a user facility, and
perform these experiments under the guidance and support of the appropriate
facility-based scientist. The presentation is aimed at professionals at all levels,
from early-career researchers to mature scientists who may be insufficiently
aware or up-to-date with the breadth of opportunities provided by neutron
techniques in their area of specialty. In this spirit, it does not aim to present
a systematic and detailed development of the underlying theory, which may
be found in superbly written texts such as those of Lovesey [5] or Squires
[6]. Likewise, it is not a detailed hands-on manual of experimental methods,
which in our opinion is best obtained directly from experienced practitioners
or, alternatively, by attending practical training courses at the neutron facil-
ities. As an intermediate (and highly advisable) step, we also note the
Preface xxiii

existence of neutron-focused thematic schools, particularly those at Grenoble


[7] and Oxford [8], both of which have been running on a regular basis since
the 1990s. With these primary objectives in mind, each chapter focuses on
well-defined areas of neutron science and has been written by a leading prac-
titioner or practitioners of the application of neutron methods in that
particular field.
The first volume of this series Neutron Scattering – Fundamentals [9] gave
a self-contained survey of the theoretical concepts and formalism of the tech-
nique and established the notation used throughout the series. Subsequent chap-
ters in this first volume reviewed neutron production and instrumentation,
respectively, areas that have profited enormously from recent developments in
accelerator physics, materials research and engineering, or computing, to name
a few. The remaining chapters treated several basic applications of neutron
scattering including the structure of complex materials, large-scale structures,
and dynamics of atoms and molecules. The appendix went back to some requi-
site fundamentals linked to neutron-matter interactions, along with a detailed
compilation of neutron scattering lengths and cross sections across the
periodic table.
The second volume Neutron Scattering – Magnetic and Quantum Phenom-
ena [10] placed the focus on traditional (and still highly popular) areas of neu-
tron scattering. These included a detailed presentation of neutron optics and
spin-labeling methods along with a broad introduction to the interaction of
neutrons with electronic spins in condensed matter, a subject also of direct
relevance to the further development of novel instrumentation at present and
in the foreseeable future. The following chapters discussed recent develop-
ments in the use of neutron scattering to investigate quantum phase transi-
tions, high-temperature superconductors, magnetic structures, multiferroics,
nanomagnetism, and nuclear magnetism.
The present and final volume of the series is dedicated to the application
of neutron scattering techniques across contemporary biology, chemistry,
and materials science. As such, our presentation has been necessarily
restricted to a handful of topics, in order to highlight and bring to the fore spe-
cific areas of activity that continue to gain importance and relevance. We start
with the structure and dynamics of biological systems, followed by what one
may consider as “more chemical” applications including water and aqueous
systems, ionic liquids, catalysis on surfaces and nanostructured media, ionic
and proton conductors, and soft matter. In some cases, we have chosen to
place the emphasis on a detailed description of specific techniques and their
recent use across disciplines. These include high-temperature and high-
pressure techniques, or the (quite unique) use of epithermal neutrons to inter-
rogate the quantum behavior of atoms in materials, and how it relates to func-
tion and performance. Our presentation is wrapped-up by an up-to-date
overview of applications in engineering, an area which certainly links the
technique to an everyday context quite close to our lives. Relative to the
xxiv Preface

previous two volumes, we have found it much more difficult to keep the over-
all size of this third and final volume within reasonable bounds. In our view,
this challenge is a testament to the growth and success witnessed by the field
over the past two decades. The future of neutron scattering as a discipline,
therefore, looks very bright!
In closing this preface, we wish to thank all authors for taking time out of
their busy schedules to be part of this venture, Drs. T. Lucatorto, J.T. Yates,
and K. Baldwin for inviting us to undertake this work, and the staff of Academic
Press for their encouragement, diligence, and forbearance along the way.
Felix Fernandez-Alonso
David L. Price

REFERENCES
[1] J. Chadwick, Nature 129 (1932) 312.
[2] www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1935/ (last accessed on 12 March 2017).
[3] A. MacKay, The Making of the Atomic Age, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1984.
[4] www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1994/ (last accessed on 12 March 2017).
[5] S.W. Lovesey, Theory of Neutron Scattering from Condensed Matter, vols. I and II, Oxford
University Press, Oxford, 1986.
[6] G.L. Squires, Introduction to the Theory of Thermal Neutron Scattering, third ed.,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2012.
[7] www.hercules-school.eu/ (last accessed on 12 March 2017).
[8] www.oxfordneutronschool.org/ (last accessed on 12 March 2017).
[9] F. Fernandez-Alonso, D.L. Price (Eds.), Neutron Scattering – Fundamentals, Experimental
Methods in the Physical Sciences, vol. 44, Academic Press, Amsterdam, 2013.
[10] F. Fernandez-Alonso, D.L. Price (Eds.), Neutron Scattering – Magnetic and Quantum
Phenomena, Experimental Methods in the Physical Sciences, vol. 48, Academic Press,
Amsterdam, 2015.
Symbols
Note: Other symbols may be used that are unique to the chapter where they
occur.
a scattering length in centre-of-mass frame
b bound scattering length
A atomic-mass (or nucleon) number
b coherent scattering length
bþ scattering length for Iþ 12 state
b scattering length for I 12 state
bi incoherent scattering length
bN spin-dependent scattering length
c speed of light in vacuum ¼ 299,792,458 m s1 [1]
D dynamical matrix
D? ðQÞ magnetic interaction operator
d mass density
d equilibrium position of atom in unit cell
ds/dO differential scattering cross section
d2s/ double differential scattering cross section
dO dEf
E neutron energy transfer ðEi  Ef Þ
En neutron energy
Ei, Ef initial, final (scattered) neutron energy
e elementary charge ¼ 1.6021766208  1019 C
e (q)
k
polarization vector of normal mode k [ekd(q) for a non-Bravais
crystal]
F(τ) unit-cell structure factor
f force constant
f(Q) form factor
G(r, t) space-time (van Hove) correlation function [Gd ðr, tÞ þ Gs ðr, tÞ]
Gd(r, t) “distinct” space-time correlation function
Gs(r, t) “self” space-time correlation function
g(r) pair distribution function
ge electron g factor ¼  2.00231930436182
gn neutron g factor ¼  3.82608545
h Planck constant ¼ 6.626070040  1034 J s
ћ Planck constant over 2p(h/2p) ¼ 1.054571800  1034 J s
I angular-momentum operator for nucleus
I(Q, t) intermediate scattering function

xxv
xxvi Symbols

Is(Q, t) self intermediate scattering function


kB Boltzmann constant ¼ 1.38064852  1023 J K1
ki, kf initial, final (scattered) neutron wave vector
kn neutron wave vector ðkn ¼ 2p=ln Þ
Li, Lf initial (primary), final (secondary) flight path
l unit-cell position vector (lowercase “L”)
M atom mass
M magnetization operator
me electron mass ¼ 9.10938356  1031 kg
mn neutron mass ¼ 1.674927471  1027 kg
mp proton mass ¼ 1.672621898  1027 kg
N number of atoms in sample
NA Avogadro constant ¼ 6.022140857  1023 mol1
Nc number of unit cells in crystal
Rj position vector for particle j
Q scattering vector ðki  kf Þ
q reduced wave vector ðQ  τÞ
r0 classical electron radius (e2/4pe0mec2) ¼
2.8179403227  1015 m
S atomic-spin operator
S(Q) static structure factor I(Q, 0)
S(Q, E) dynamic structure factor or scattering function
Sc(Q, E) coherent dynamic structure factor or scattering function
Si(Q, E) incoherent dynamic structure factor or scattering function
s electron-spin operator
T temperature
u unified atomic-mass unit ¼ 1.660539040  1027 kg
ul vibrational amplitude (uld for non-Bravais crystals)
V volume of sample
vi, vf initial, final (scattered) neutron velocity
vn neutron velocity
v0 unit-cell volume
2W exponential argument in the Debye-Waller factor
Z atomic (or proton) number
Z(E) phonon density of states
G spectral linewidth
g neutron magnetic moment to nuclear magneton ratio
(mn/mN) ¼  1.91304273
gn neutron gyromagnetic ratio ¼ 1.83247172  108 s1 T1
Y Debye temperature
y Bragg angle
li, lf initial, final (scattered) neutron wavelength
m atomic magnetic moment
mN nuclear magneton (eℏ/2mp)¼ 5.050783699  1027 J T1
Symbols xxvii

mB Bohr magneton (eℏ/2me)¼ 927.4009994  1026 J T1


mn neutron magnetic moment ¼  0.96623650  1026 J T1
n frequency (o/2p)
r(r, t) particle-density operator
r0 average number density
S macroscopic cross section associated with a given cross section s
(see below)
sa absorption cross section
st bound total cross section ðss þ sa Þ
sc bound coherent scattering cross section
si bound incoherent scattering cross section
ss bound scattering cross section ðsc þ si Þ
2s
1 neutron-spin (Pauli) operator
τ reciprocal lattice vector {2p[(h/a), (k/b), (l/c)]}
F neutron flux (typically defined as neutrons crossing per unit area
per unit time)
f scattering angle (¼2y)
w susceptibility
w(Q, E) generalized susceptibility
O solid angle
o radian frequency associated with neutron energy transfer E ¼ ℏo
ok(q) frequency of normal mode k

REFERENCES
[1] All numerical values have been taken from the CODATA Internationally Recommended
Values of the Fundamental Physical Constants, as detailed in P.J. Mohr, D.B. Newell, B.N.
Taylor, Rev. Mod. Phys. 88 (2016) 035009 and P.J. Mohr, D.B. Newell, B.N. Taylor, J. Phys.
Chem. Ref. Data 45 (2016) 043102. Updates can be found online at physics.nist.gov/cuu/
Constants/ (last accessed on 12 March 2017).
Chapter 1

Biological Structures
Zoe Fisher*,†, Andrew Jackson*,‡, Andrey Kovalevsky§,
Esko Oksanen*,¶ and Hanna Wacklin*,‡,1
*
European Spallation Source, Lund, Sweden; †Department of Biology, Lund University,
Lund, Sweden; ‡Department of Chemistry, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; §Biology and
Soft Matter Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, United States;

Department of Biochemistry and Structural Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
1
Corresponding author: e-mail: hanna.wacklin@esss.se

Chapter Outline
1.1 Introduction: Neutrons and 1.5.2 Experimental
Biological Structures 2 Considerations 37
1.2 Diffraction 3 1.6 Deuterium Labeling for
1.2.1 Macromolecular Biological Structure
Crystallography 3 Determination 37
1.2.2 Neutron Fiber 1.6.1 Protein Deuteration 38
Diffraction 11 1.6.2 Biopolymer
1.3 Small-Angle Neutron Scattering Deuteration 41
(SANS) 12 1.6.3 Biomembrane and
1.3.1 SANS Instrumentation 13 Small Molecule
1.3.2 Sample Preparation 15 Deuteration 41
1.3.3 Data Processing and 1.6.4 Current and Future
Analysis 19 Deuteration Facilities 43
1.4 Neutron Reflectometry 22 1.7 Scientific Highlights 45
1.4.1 Specular and Off- 1.7.1 Neutron Protein
Specular Reflection 23 Crystallography 45
1.4.2 Grazing-Incidence SANS 1.7.2 Fibre Biomaterials and
(GISANS) 24 Structural Biopolymers 52
1.4.3 Instruments 25 1.7.3 Protein Solution
1.4.4 Experimental Structures 54
Considerations 25 1.7.4 Membrane Structures
1.4.5 Data Analysis and and Proteins in
Refinement 31 Membranes 56
1.5 Membrane Diffraction 36 1.7.5 Biomedical Applications
1.5.1 Instruments, Data and Biomaterials 63
Collection, and 1.8 Future Perspectives 65
Analysis 37 References 65

Experimental Methods in the Physical Sciences, Vol. 49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-805324-9.00001-7


© 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 1
2 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

1.1 INTRODUCTION: NEUTRONS AND BIOLOGICAL


STRUCTURES
Neutron scattering methods [1] are excellent for probing the detailed structure
of biological systems due to their high hydrogen content, without beam dam-
age as often induced by X-ray or electron scattering techniques. Biological
systems typically rely on the intricate interplay of a large number of mole-
cules from proteins and nucleic acids to lipids, hormones, and metabolites.
By exploring molecular interactions and processes, neutron scattering can also
further our understanding of the mechanisms of diseases and assist in the
development, formulation, and effective delivery of new drugs and new mate-
rials for bioimplants and healthcare devices.
Despite this, it could be said that neutron techniques have not yet reached
their full potential in biology. Applications of neutron methods to solving
biological problems [2] have traditionally been limited by the relatively low
intensity of neutron sources that have required very large samples; the some-
times complex and expensive isotope labeling techniques needed to make full
use of neutron scattering have taken time, as has the adaptation of general-
purpose neutron instruments for the requirements of biological samples. How-
ever, with recent instrument developments and the emergence of both new
neutron sources and techniques, many biological systems that are not yet ame-
nable to characterization by neutron scattering will become accessible in the
near future, which will allow new experiments to be developed with a range
of biologically relevant samples, offering new insights in life science.
Neutron protein crystallography [3] allows determination of the positions
of hydrogen atoms in biological macromolecules. The hydrogens are pivotal
for understanding enzyme mechanisms, protein-ligand interactions, and pro-
ton transport across membranes, which in turn is essential for understanding
disease mechanisms and design of new pharmaceuticals. Neutron fiber dif-
fraction [4] provides high-resolution structural information about the internal
structure of protein amyloid fibers and cellulosic biomaterials, including the
distribution of water within the fibers.
Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) [5] in solution probes the larger
structural length scales relevant for biological function of macromolecules
and large multicomponent complexes that can be both transient and inherently
flexible. Selective deuteration to change the isotopic composition of different
components means that even in complex systems, the separate components
and subunits can be discerned with intermediate resolution, and the solution
state allows investigation of interactions between biological macromolecules
in situ.
Biological membrane structure can be explored using membrane diffrac-
tion, SANS, and neutron reflectometry [6,7] to probe the internal membrane
structure, such as the location, dimensions, and orientation of membrane pro-
teins under physiologically relevant, noncrystalline conditions. Time-of-flight
Biological Structures Chapter 1 3

neutron reflectometry and SANS can furthermore be used in situ to study the
mechanisms of molecular interactions at biological interfaces. Off-specular
reflectometry and grazing-incidence SANS extend the one-dimensional infor-
mation obtained from reflectometry to two-dimensional structures.
Diffraction, SANS, and reflectometry form a powerful arsenal of probes
for biological structures on different length scales, and in the remainder of
the chapter, we will describe the basis of each technique, available instru-
ments, data analysis methods, and experimental considerations including sam-
ple preparation and deuterium labeling.

1.2 DIFFRACTION
1.2.1 Macromolecular Crystallography
Neutron crystallography is conceptually very similar to X-ray crystallography—
a mainstay technique in structural biology—but neutrons are scattered from
atomic nuclei and not from electrons, making the observed scattering indepen-
dent from the atomic Z number. Almost 50% of all the atoms in a protein mol-
ecule consist of hydrogen (H), and as H atoms are involved in most aspects of
protein structure and function, it is important to know where they are and what
they are doing. Table 1 below shows the neutron and X-ray scattering lengths
for atom types found in biological macromolecules. Due to the favorable

TABLE 1 Neutron and X-ray Scattering Lengths for Atom Commonly Found
in Biological Macromoleculesa
X-Ray
X-Ray scattering
scattering length
length (10215 m),
si (Barn (10215 m), (sinu)/
Isotope Z b (10215 m) 10228 m2) sinu 5 0 l 5 0.5 Å21
1
H 1 3.74 80.27 2.80 0.20
2
H 1 6.67 2.05 2.80 0.20
12
C 6 6.65 0.00 16.90 4.80
14
N 7 9.37 0.50 19.70 5.30
16
O 8 5.80 0.00 22.50 6.20
32
S 16 2.80 0.00 45.00 1.90
a
An up-to-date compilation of cross sections can be found in the appendix of the first volume of the
series by Dawidowski et al. [10].
Taken and adapted from the NIST website [8] and Blakeley et al. [9].
4 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

scattering by the lighter atoms, neutron crystallography enables the scientist to


directly observe the three-dimensional positions of H (or its isotope D) atoms in
nuclear scattering density maps. Therefore, neutron crystallography is the
method of choice for many structural biologists interested in three-dimensional
structural information of biological macromolecules such as protein or nucleic
acids.
In a crystallographic experiment, a single crystal of the protein of interest
is exposed to a beam of radiation—such as neutrons—and the diffraction pat-
tern is recorded. The diffraction pattern consists of discrete spots, which cor-
respond to directions in which the diffraction condition is met. The diffraction
condition can be expressed with either Bragg’s law (2dsiny ¼ nl) (where d is
the length of a lattice vector and l is the wavelength) or the Laue conditions
using the basis vectors a, b, and c of the unit cell a  Q ¼ h, b  Q ¼ k, and
c  Q ¼ l. The positions of these reflections are given by the unit cell of the
crystal and its orientation in the beam, but their intensities are related to the
structure of the molecule in the unit cell. By determining the unit cell and ori-
entation matrix, the reflections can be assigned the correct Miller h,k,l indices
(known as indexing), and their intensities can be integrated and scaled. Each
reflection represents a coefficient in the Fourier transform of the scattering
length density in the crystal. As the intensities are the square of the complex
Fourier coefficients of the unit cell contents, they contain a priori no informa-
tion about the phase of the Fourier coefficient. Since the phases dominate the
appearance of the Fourier map, it is critically important to determine the
phases. In neutron crystallography, this is generally trivial, as X-ray structures
of the same protein always exist. From the phases and the amplitudes (which
can be calculated from the intensities), a scattering length density map can be
calculated. An atomic model is then built to this map and refined computa-
tionally against a target function incorporating both the fit between experi-
mental and calculated amplitudes and a geometry term to restrain the
models to be chemically reasonable.
In neutron crystallography, the most abundant isotope of hydrogen, 1H,
presents two practical problems. Firstly, the incoherent scattering cross sec-
tion (Table 1) is much higher than for any other element, which leads to high
background, as the incoherently scattered neutrons do not contribute to Bragg
reflections. Secondly, the scattering length (Table 1) is negative, which gives
rise to troughs instead of peaks in a nuclear scattering length density map and
may lead to cancellation by nearby peaks from other atoms. Therefore, it is
advantageous to fully or partially deuterate the sample being studied, as the
incoherent scattering cross section is much lower and the scattering length
positive. This dramatically not only improves the signal-to-noise of the
recorded data but also leads to high-quality nuclear density maps and eases
data analysis and interpretation.
As illustrated in Figure 1, in practice, this means that one can readily
observe the atomic details of hydrogen bonds, water or solvent molecule
Biological Structures Chapter 1 5

A w501 RIS B
w502

w503

Mg2+
w529

w528
w504
w506 Mg2+
w505

Mg2+
w507
C
w508

w524 w523

w522

w525

FIGURE 1 Structures of enzyme active sites as determined by joint X-ray and neutron protein
crystallography. (A) Farnesyl pyrophosphate synthase, (B) HIV protease in complex with ampre-
navir, and (C) human carbonic anhydrase II. The nuclear density maps clearly show H/D atoms
present on water molecules and amino acid side chains, revealing hydrogen bonds, water net-
works, and charged state of catalytic residues and/or ligands. Reproduced with permissions from
(A) Yokohama et al. [11], (B) Weber et al. [12], and (C) Michalczyk et al. [13].

orientation and interactions, details of ligand/drug/substrate/inhibitor binding,


and the charged state of amino acid residues. All this information is funda-
mental to understanding protein function and activity, making neutrons a
valuable tool for the study of protein structures [9].
Compared with small-molecule crystallography [14], macromolecular unit
cells are very large and weakly diffracting. Early neutron instruments only
allowed studying crystals of several mm3 in volume and with unit cell edges
smaller than 30 Å. This severely limited the use of neutron crystallography in
the past for the study of macromolecules. Even with very large crystals, data
collection would take several months [15]. In the last decade or so, things
have rapidly changed, and there are now >100 deposited protein and DNA
neutron crystal structures, about half of which were deposited since 2010.
Neutron protein crystallography is growing with increasing reports of larger
and more complex systems being studied using smaller crystals and dramati-
cally shortened data collection times.
This recent expansion in the field can be ascribed to a number of improve-
ments. The main transformation has happened due to a number of advances
including the development of Laue, quasi-Laue, and monochromatic diffract-
ometers based on a variety of different detector technologies at both reactor
and spallation neutron sources. In addition to hardware developments and
6 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

simply the availability of more instruments, there has also been a push by sev-
eral facilities to offer users access to support laboratories for sample prepara-
tion, in particular deuteration.
Recent developments in crystallographic refinement software have also
played a major role in improving the throughput of neutron protein struc-
tures. Since 50% of the atoms in a biological crystal are hydrogens, crys-
tallographic refinement of the hydrogen positions effectively doubles the
number of parameters, while the number of observed Bragg reflections
remains the same for a given resolution. This unfavorable effect on the
data-to-parameter ratio can be mitigated by using also X-ray data in the
refinement to provide information about the positions of heavier atoms. This
so-called joint refinement has been implemented in the software packages
CNS and PHENIX [16].

1.2.1.1 Instruments
Neutron beams are made in two ways for research applications [17], at
reactor-based sources that are usually continuous and at spallation sources that
are usually pulsed. Globally, there are a handful of instruments dedicated to
macromolecular crystallography available at both types of sources. Their
properties are listed in Tables 2 and 3. The different neutron facilities that
host these instruments offer a range of user support for sample preparation,
data collection, and analysis. Despite the seemingly large variety in data col-
lection methods (time of flight and Laue vs quasi-Laue vs monochromatic),
instrument geometries, available neutron energies, beam delivery systems,
beam divergence, detector technologies, etc., the final diffraction data
measured at any of these instruments are very similar. Yet, there are advan-
tages and disadvantages in using one over the other for a given sample.
Things to consider include the crystallographic unit cell, crystal volume,
and whether it is partially or perdeuterated.
When comparing instrument features, there are some indications as to
which instrument may be better suited for a particular sample. Most instru-
ments are well suited to unit cells that are no bigger than 100 Å on each
edge, but this is heavily dependent on the crystal size and mosaicity.
Depending on the source and detector type, some instruments offer higher
gains for perdeuterated crystals over those partially deuterated by solvent
H/D exchange.
In general, the advantage of perdeuteration is larger at reactor-based Laue
instruments, where it significantly pushes the volume limit down. For exam-
ple at LADI-III, data were successfully collected from perdeuterated crystals
smaller than 0.3 mm3 [9]. Beam time at the facilities hosting the instruments
is allocated based on scientific merit after review of a beam time proposal.
As the allocation of beam time is incredibly competitive, users tend to use
all the available instruments. In addition to the instruments currently available
for users, there are plans for new instruments at both existing and future
TABLE 2 Reactor-Based Instruments for Neutron Protein Crystallography

LADI-III [18] Biodiff [19] Imagine [20] BIX-3 [21] BIX-4 [22]
Facility/source ILL [23] 58 MW MLZ, FRM-II [24] ORNL, HFIR [25] JRR-3M [26] JRR-3M [26]
20 MW 84 MW 20 MW 20 MW

Laue versus Quasi-Laue Monochromatic Quasi-Laue Monochromatic Monochromatic


monochromatic
Wavelengths min 2.6–3.4, 3.2–4.2, 2.4–5.6 2.0, 2.8, 3.3 2.4 2.6
and max (Å) 3.8–5.0, 4.1–5.5 3.0, 4.0, 4.5

Detector type Cylindrical image plate Cylindrical image Cylindrical Cylindrical Cylindrical
plate image plate image plate image plate

Sample Ambient Ambient, 90–550 K, Ambient, 100 K Ambient, 100 K Ambient, 100 K
environment 3.5–325 K cryogenic cryogenic cryogenic
Crystallographic 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5
resolution (Å)
Unit cell (Å) 150 Å each edge 100 Å each edge 100 Å each 100 Å each 100 Å each
edge edge edge
Sample volume >0.05 mm3 >1 mm3 >1 mm3 >1 mm3 >1 mm3
8 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

TABLE 3 Spallation-Source-Based Instruments for Neutron Protein


Crystallography

NMX
PCS [27] MaNDi [28] iBIX [29] (future) [30]
Facility/source LANSCE [31], ORNL, SNS [32], J-PARC, ESS [34],
0.1 MW, 2 MW, 60/30 Hz MLF [33], 5 MW,
20 Hz 1 MW, 14 Hz
25 Hz
Laue versus Laue Laue Laue Laue
monochromatic
Wavelengths 0.6–7.0 1–10 (△l 2.15 0.7–7.8 1.8–10
min and max (Å) or 4.3) (△l  4) (△l  1.75)
3
Detector type He Anger camera l-Shifting Gd-coated
fiber GEM
detectors

Sample Ambient, 80–400 K Ambient, Ambient,


environment 100 K 100 K 100 K,
controlled
humidity
Crystallographic >1.0 1.5 1.5 1.5
resolution (Å)
Unit cell (Å) 100 Å one 150 Å, 300 Å 100 Å 300 Å all
up to 200 Å for large crystals one up to edges
(>1 mm3) 200 Å
Sample volume >0.5 mm3 >0.1 mm3 >1 mm3 >0.01 mm3

neutron sources. The plans at existing facilities for new macromolecular dif-
fractometers are not yet very advanced, but the NMX diffractometer at the
European Spallation Source (ESS)—currently under construction in Lund,
Sweden—is in the detailed engineering design phase and is likely to be avail-
able for users ca. 2023. The ESS source is ideally suited for macromolecular
crystallography and large gains are expected (Table 2).
The data reduction for different types of instruments is also rather different.
With monochromatic instruments, the software packages used for monochro-
matic X-ray diffraction can be used with minor modification. For reactor-based
Laue instruments, software has been adapted from X-ray Laue software, but for
the time-of-flight Laue method, new, dedicated software has been developed.
At present, each facility has its own solution, and a common approach is yet
to emerge.
Biological Structures Chapter 1 9

1.2.1.2 Sample Considerations for Neutron Protein


Crystallography
Instrumentation and software advances have certainly improved the throughput
of neutron protein crystallography beamlines, but crystallization remains a
major bottleneck. Macromolecular crystals are typically of large systems that
diffract weakly and have a lot of solvent (30–70%), making them particularly
intractable for inherently flux-limited neutron experiments. Even for X-ray
applications where orders of magnitude smaller crystals are needed, crystal
growth is difficult to study and control. This is because it is expensive and
time-consuming to prepare large quantities of labeled (and unlabeled) sample,
and they are often not stable enough to enable exhaustive screening for optimal
crystallization conditions. For neutron experiments, there is the added burden
of needing crystals in the 1 mm3 range, and this consumes enormous amounts
of sample, typically hundreds of milligrams of pure protein. For most crystal-
lographers, this is very difficult, even impossible, to achieve. However, in the
recent years, there have been many reports of large crystal growth for neutron
experiments, and some techniques seem to work better than others. As for
X-ray crystallography, proteins should be >95% pure and as concentrated as
the protein solubility permits. It is beneficial to centrifuge the concentrated pro-
tein solution prior to setting up crystallization drops as this removes any partic-
ulate or insoluble matter that may interfere with nucleation and crystal growth.
If enough sample is available, it is very useful to investigate the solubility
of the protein as a function of precipitant/pH/temperature (or some other
parameter like additive concentration) through a phase diagram. If done prop-
erly and carefully, a well-conceived phase diagram will indicate a range of
parameters from which to further optimize on large scale. In an idealized
phase diagram, there are four zones: solution, metastable, labile, and precipi-
tation zones. Nucleation occurs in the labile zone, followed by crystal growth
in the metastable zone. In the solution zone, the drops are clear with no nucle-
ation occurring. In the precipitation zone, there is an irreversible step where
the protein comes out of solution. A phase diagram can be set up in a
24- or 96-well plate format with relatively little sample. Many of the crystal-
lization robots (e.g., Oryx8 from Douglas Instruments) can be programmed to
set these up, covering an extensive solubility matrix for systematic study of
protein behavior. To maximize the amount of soluble protein available for
crystal growth, it is necessary to scale up the drop sizes. The conditions that
produced the best crystals in small volume have to be further optimized once
scale-up has occurred. For most successful neutron crystal preparations, the
drops should be 100–1000 mL in volume. This implies that the usual sitting-
drop setups that work well for X-ray crystallography are not sufficient or
practically possible for neutron applications. Due to the large volumes
required, the approaches that can routinely produce large crystals are sitting-
drop vapor diffusion, batch, and dialysis.
10 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

Various commercial supports are available to ease the growth of large crys-
tals for neutron crystallography. For sitting-drop vapor diffusion, the sandwich
box setup from Hampton Research utilizes a large reservoir and a nine-well
glass plate, each well can hold up to 1000 mL. This has been used with huge
success for a large number of different proteins that crystallize with sitting-
drop vapor diffusion [35–40]. The nine-well glass plate can be used for batch
crystallization also, as long as the plates are well sealed with tape so that no
evaporation occurs. Large, single crystals of pyrophosphatase were grown on
the vapor diffusion concept but in capillaries [41].
Crystallization by dialysis is a powerful variation of the vapor diffusion
technique. Here, the concentrations of the protein and precipitant increase in
the dialysis button due to slow diffusion of the water out of the sample into
the mother liquor and counterdiffusion of the precipitant through a semiper-
meable membrane with a defined molecular weight cutoff. Dialysis is the only
approach used for crystallization that works by lowering, rather than increas-
ing, the precipitant concentration. For some proteins, crystals can be grown by
dialysis against H2O or D2O due to a salting-in effect. Dialysis button and
setup kits are commercially available from Hampton Research and can be
bought for volumes up to 350 mL. Care has to be taken during setup and crys-
tal harvest as the buttons are quite small and it is easy to lose a crystal when
the button is opened up. This method has been used with success for growing
neutron quality crystals of a handful of proteins [42,43]. There has also been a
recent development to automate dialysis crystallization with temperature con-
trol and real-time visualization. This device is called the Opticrys and is com-
mercially sold by NatX-ray. This approach is different from previous work
since it allows the user to set up parallel experiments with the same protein
sample. It is a nondestructive method, and the conditions can be altered or
reversed in the same vessel while testing multiple crystallization conditions
in a rational, controlled way [44]. The current maximum sample volume is
90 mL, but the system is suitably flexible so that larger volume can be used
with a custom made button.
Most neutron diffraction experiments with macromolecules are performed
at ambient temperature and pressure. Neutrons, in the energy spectrum most
suitable for macromolecular crystallography, are not destructive to biological
samples, and they do not cause the typical radiation damage seen with X-rays.
This makes it very simple to collect data at room temperature with the sam-
ples mounted in thick-walled quartz capillaries, with the ends sealed airtight
with beeswax. These capillaries are easy to work with, and quartz scatters
thermal or cold neutrons very weakly.
Using capillaries also allows the user to perform H/D exchange through
the vapor in a sealed capillary prior to data collection. This technique is quite
gentle on the sample compared with growing the crystal in deuterated solu-
tions or soaking the crystals after they have formed. It also leads to equivalent
levels of H/D exchange provided at least 3 weeks are allowed for H/D
Biological Structures Chapter 1 11

exchange prior to data collection. The exchange in the capillary occurs from
the D2O vapor that comes from the deuterated mother liquor plug that is intro-
duced during crystal mounting. For most large, stable crystals, capillary
mounting and room-temperature data collection work well but are clearly
not a good solution for transient complexes or for crystals that will not survive
at room temperature for the days/weeks it can take to collect neutron data.
Every macromolecular beamline is equipped with standard cryosystems that
allow data collection at 100 K, but freezing large crystals at home before data
collection can be very challenging or even impossible to do without causing
catastrophic damage to the crystal lattice. Long, serial soaking in increasing
amounts of cryoprotectants has been demonstrated to help with this, but either
many systems are not amenable to this due to a lack of sufficient numbers of
large crystals to experiment on or that the crystal simply does not tolerate
this [45]. ADC offers a stand-alone high-pressure crystal freezing device that
may present a practical and technically feasible solution to freezing large
crystals without the use of cryoprotectants. These devices probably have a
very good place at most neutron protein crystallography beamlines where
crystals bigger than 1 mm3 are still required. For crystals 0.5 mm3 and smal-
ler, it is usually sufficient to use standard procedures as is routinely done for
X-ray work [46].

1.2.2 Neutron Fiber Diffraction


Neutron fiber diffraction has been applied to study the structure of many dif-
ferent kinds of biologically important polymers, such as DNA [47], troponin
C, cellulose [48], chitin [49], and amyloid fibers [50,51] For this technique,
samples have to be aligned fibers and H/D solvent exchanged to improve
the signal-to-noise ratio for neutron scattering experiments. The alignment
has to be such that the long axes are parallel to the fiber axes. The highly
ordered crystalline regions of fibers are usually interspersed with less ordered,
amorphous regions that complicate the diffraction patterns. In addition, how
the fibers are packed and aligned with respect to the individual chains being
in register will largely determine the quality of the measured diffraction pat-
tern. As Figure 2 illustrates, the variation can be quite extreme, from a contin-
uous molecular transform to sharp, well-defined Bragg peaks.
With a well-prepared sample and other favorable conditions, the resolu-
tion can be extended to atomic resolution. For most biological polymers that
occur in a fibrous state, it is the atomic structure, arrangement of monomers,
and the higher-order interactions between chains that are crucial to how they
function. Fiber diffraction is also amenable to measuring conformational
changes in biological polymers as the fibers can often tolerate changes in
environment better than single crystals. This makes it possible to subject a
sample to an array of different humidities, ionic strengths, pH, and so on.
Neutron fiber diffraction is highly complementary to X-ray methods as it
12 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

FIGURE 2 Neutron fiber diffraction data recorded on the D19 diffractometer at ILL from a vari-
ety of samples indicate the wide variation in details of observed diffraction patterns. (A) Troponin
C, (B) DNA, and (C) cellulose. Reproduced with permissions from [48,51,52].

can provide high-resolution atomic information in addition to enabling water


location and H/D atom visualization [4].
While different forms of cellulose appear naturally as crystalline microfi-
bers, they are not sufficiently well ordered to be suitable for diffraction
experiments without some additional preparation. First, the thin microcrystal-
line sticks are purified, and the suspension is then cast as films in which the
microcrystals were oriented parallel to one another. These films can then be
used for “as is” for X-ray diffraction experiments. The samples are subse-
quently subjected to H/D exchange to make them suitable for neutron diffrac-
tion experiments [48]. Also, the samples have to be much bigger for neutron
experiments than for X-rays, and this means the films or fibers have to be
made thicker by stacking or some other manual manipulation. For work on
troponin C, the samples were prepared as a solution in heavy water (D2O)
and sealed in 3 mm diameter capillaries. The polymers were then oriented
by placing the capillaries in an 18 T magnetic field [51]. Samples of amyloid
fibers were prepared by drying solutions of the peptide in between two glass
rods. The resulting fibers were then stacked in a parallel array to match the
neutron beam size. Fibers are often subjected to H/D exchange in a humidity
chamber prior to and during data collection. The humidity can also be con-
trolled to drive crystalline transitions for functional studies [50].
Most neutron fiber diffraction experiments in the last decade have been
conducted at beamline D19 at the ILL (Grenoble, France). A thorough
description of the D19 beamline and instrument capabilities can be found in
Teixeira et al. [53].

1.3 SMALL-ANGLE NEUTRON SCATTERING (SANS)


Small-angle neutron scattering [1] provides structural information on nanome-
ter to micrometer length scales, covering the sizes of interest for biological
systems from lipid bilayers, to proteins and protein aggregates, to liposomes
Biological Structures Chapter 1 13

and viruses. Some of the earliest SANS measurements were made on bio-
logical systems [54–56] and summarized by Jacrot [57]. Using contrast varia-
tion and matching, SANS is a powerful tool for the study of biological
systems in solution, particularly the study of multidomain proteins [58–60],
protein-lipid complexes [61] [62], and nucleic acids [63]. Use of deuterated
proteins and lipids allows such complex systems to be studied and details of
intermolecular arrangements to be determined.
Small-angle scattering data are recorded as scattered intensity as a func-
tion of wave-vector transfer, q, which is defined in Eq. (1):
4p sin y
q¼ (1)
l
where 2y is the scattering angle and l is the neutron wavelength. The method
takes its name from the fact that the scattering angles used are small compared
with diffraction measurements, with the upper limit widely considered to be
2y ¼ 45°. The size of the scattering object has an inverse relationship with
the q vector, so measuring at low angles means measuring at low q, which
leads to studying scattering from larger structures than those probed by dif-
fraction measurements. Thus, whereas diffraction methods probe interatomic
distances, small-angle scattering allows for studies of molecular conforma-
tion, association, and arrangement. The measured scattering has a coherent
part, which contains structural information and an incoherent part that con-
tains no structural information and is a source of background in a SANS
measurement [64].

1.3.1 SANS Instrumentation


SANS is measured in transmission geometry (Figure 3), with the neutron
beam being directed onto a platelike sample through a pair of collimating
apertures that determine the angular divergence of the beam and hence both
the minimum accessible wave-vector transfer, q, and the angular resolution

FIGURE 3 Schematic of a pinhole SANS instrument showing the major components and termi-
nology. Not to scale.
14 Neutron Scattering - Applications in Biology, Chemistry, and Materials Science

of the instrument, dy/y. In order to reach lower values of scattering vector and
hence study larger structures, SANS instruments tend to have long collimation
distances and long sample-to-detector distances, usually in the range of
10–20 m each, and use long wavelengths of neutrons, up to 20 Å. The scat-
tered neutrons are then counted on one or more area detectors in order to mea-
sure at multiple angles simultaneously. Access to lower values of scattering
vector can be achieved via either measuring at a smaller angle or through
the use of longer wavelength neutrons. Two approaches exist for the design
of pinhole SANS instruments, continuous/monochromatic or pulsed/time of
flight. In the continuous approach, a beam of neutrons with a narrow band
of wavelengths, usually with 10–15% Dl/l, is directed onto the sample. In
this case, the simultaneously measurable q-range is determined solely by the
angular coverage of the detectors. In the time-of-flight approach, a pulsed
beam of neutrons is required, and the time between the neutron pulse and
the time of measurement of a signal on the detector is used to determine the
neutron velocity and therefore the neutron wavelength. The pulse of neutrons
will contain a broad range of wavelengths, so a wider q-range is measurable at
one time since wavelength and scattering angle are varied simultaneously.
In addition to these “pinhole geometry” SANS instruments (Figure 3),
which are the most common, other methods exist to reduce the minimum
accessible scattering vector. USANS, “ultra-” or “ultra-high-resolution”
small-angle neutron scattering [65,66], is a term usually reserved for two-axis
monochromator-analyzer crystal instruments. These instruments make use of
diffraction from crystals to define the incoming wavelength and also provide
a very narrow angular resolution and hence much lower scattering vectors.
USANS instruments generally allow access to scattering from structures
between 0.5 and 10 micrometers in size. VSANS, “very” small-angle neutron
scattering, uses systems of converging collimation slits or pinholes to overlap
the size range of SANS and USANS [67,68].
The neutron has a spin, and as such, a beam of neutrons can be polarized
such that it contains only neutrons of one spin state [69]. The polarization of
the beam is affected by the interactions of the neutron with materials and
magnetic fields and is most commonly used to probe the magnetic structure
of nanomaterials. This can apply in some biologically related studies, such
as therapeutic nanoparticles, but can also be used as a means of quantifying
the incoherent scattering background that comes primarily from the water in
a sample [70–72].
Polarized neutron beams are also used in spin-echo SANS [73,74], which
is a less common approach to measuring scattering at small angles. Here, the
polarized beam of neutrons passes through a magnetic field, which causes
their spin to precess. A second field after the sample exactly matches the first
but in the reverse direction. If there is no interaction with the sample, then
there is no change to the polarization of the neutron beam. If there is scatter-
ing, however, the path length through the second field will be different from
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Her Majesty, however, continuing to express herself of a different
opinion, I found it useless to offer objections.
When I returned home in the evening, I set myself, therefore, to
consider how I might best execute her orders, and before I went to
bed I drew up a sort of plan, which I thought might furnish some
ideas for the formation of the establishment in view, and sent it off to
the Empress, more, indeed, for the purpose of complying with her
wishes than from any serious thought of furnishing a design worthy
of her choice and adoption. My astonishment may therefore be
imagined, when I received back, from the hands of her Majesty, this
imperfect outline of a scheme hastily conceived and informally drawn
up, with all the ceremonial of an official instrument, confirmed by the
sanction of her Imperial signature, and accompanied with an ukase
which conferred on me the presidentship of the embryo academy. A
copy of this ukase, I at the same time learned, had been transmitted
to the Senate.
Though this had the air of the Empress’s being in earnest, and
resolute in her intentions with regard to me, I nevertheless went to
Tsárskoe Seló two days afterwards, still hoping to prevail on her
Majesty to make choice of some other president. Finding my efforts
unavailing, I told her Majesty that as Director of the Academy of Arts
and Sciences I had already at my disposal sufficient funds for the
maintenance of the new establishment, and that she need be at no
other expense, at present, than the purchase of a house for it. These
funds, I observed, in explanation, would arise out of the five
thousand roubles which she gave annually, from her private purse,
for translations of the classics. The Empress evinced her surprise
and satisfaction, but expressed her hopes that the translations
should be continued.
“Most assuredly, madam,” said I, “the translations shall be carried
on, and I trust more extensively than hitherto, by the students of the
Academy of Sciences, subject to the revision and correction of the
professors; and thus the five thousand roubles, of which the directors
have never rendered any account, and which, to judge from the very
few translations that have appeared, they seem to have put into their
own pockets, may now be turned to a very useful purpose. I will have
the honour, madam,” added I, “of presenting you soon with an
estimate of all the necessary expenses of the proposed
establishment; and considering the sum I have stated as the extent
of its means, we shall then see if anything remains for the less
absolute requisites, such as medals and casts,—a few of which may
be deemed, indeed, almost indispensable, in order to reward and
distinguish the most deserving of its students.”
In the estimate, which I accordingly made, I fixed the salary of two
secretaries at 900 roubles, and of two translators at 450 roubles
each. It was necessary, also, to have a treasurer, and four persons,
invalid soldiers, to heat the stove and take care of the house. These
appointments together I estimated at 3300 roubles, which left the
1700 for fuel, paper and the occasional purchase of books, but no
surplus whatever for casts and medals.
Her Majesty, who had been accustomed to a very different scale of
expenditure, was, I think, more surprised than pleased at this
estimate; but signified her desire to add whatever was wanted for the
purposes not provided for in it, and this I fixed at 1250 roubles. The
salary of the president, and contingent perquisites of office, were not
usually forgotten in estimates of this nature, but in the present I had
not assigned myself a single rouble; and thus was a most useful
establishment, answering every object of its institution, founded and
supported at no greater expense to her Majesty than the price of a
few honorary badges.
To sum up all that may be said on the subject of the Russian
Academy, I may be allowed to state the following particulars: viz., in
the first place, that with three years’ arrears of her Majesty’s bounty,
originally granted for the translation of the classics, which had not
been paid to Mr. Domáshnev,—that is to say, with 15,000 roubles, in
addition to what sums I could spare from the economic fund,—I built
two houses in the court of the house given by the Empress for the
Academy, which added a rent of 1950 roubles to its revenue; I
furnished the house of the Academy, and by degrees purchased a
very considerable library, having, in the meantime, lent my own for
its use; I left 4900 roubles as a fund, placed in the Foundling
Hospital; I began, finished and published a dictionary; and all this I
had accomplished at the end of eleven years. I say nothing of the
new building for the Academy, the elevation of which has been so
much admired, executed, indeed, under my directions, but at the
expense of the Crown, and therefore not to be enumerated among
those labours which were more especially my own. Besides, had it
been, strictly speaking, a work of mine, I could never have
considered it as one of my labours; for with so decided a taste, or
rather passion, as I had for architecture, such a work would have
formed one of my highest gratifications.
I ought to observe, before I dismiss the subject, that many things
occurred at Court relative to the concerns of my office both to vex
and disgust me. The enlightened part of the public, indeed, rendered
me more than justice in the tribute of praise they bestowed on my
zeal and public-spiritedness, to which they were pleased to refer all
the merit of the institution of a Russian Academy, as well as the
astonishing rapidity with which the first dictionary of our native
language was completed.
This latter work was the subject of a very clamorous criticism,
particularly as to the method of its verbal arrangement, which was
not according to an alphabetical, but an etymological order. This was
objected to, as rendering the dictionary confused, and ill adapted for
popular use; an objection very loudly echoed by the courtiers as
soon as it was known to have been made by the Empress, who
asked me more than once why we had adopted so inconvenient an
arrangement. It was, I informed her Majesty, no unusual one in the
first dictionary of any language, on account of the greater facility it
afforded in showing and even discovering the roots of words; but that
the Academy would publish, in about three years, a second edition,
arranged alphabetically, and much more perfect in every respect.
I know not how it was that the Empress, whose perception could
embrace every object, even those the most profound, appeared not
to comprehend me, but this I know, that I experienced in
consequence much annoyance, and notwithstanding my repugnance
to declare the opinion which her Majesty had pronounced against
our dictionary, at a sitting of the Academy, I determined to bring
forward the question again at our first meeting, without entering into
some other matters connected with it for which I had often been
made accountable.
All the members, as I expected, gave their judgment that it was
impossible to arrange otherwise the first dictionary of our language,
but that the second would be more complete, and disposed in
alphabetical order.
I repeated to the Empress, the next time I saw her, the unanimous
opinion of the academicians, and the reason for it. Her Majesty,
however, continued to retain her own, and was, in fact, at that time
much interested in a work dignified by the name of a dictionary, of
which Mr. Pallas was the compiler. It was a sort of vocabulary, in
nearly a hundred languages, some of which presented the reader
with about a score of words only, such as earth, air, water, father,
mother and so forth. Its learned author, celebrated for the publication
of his travels in Russia, and for his attainments in natural history, had
dared to run up the expense of printing this work, called a dictionary,
to flatter a little prejudice of her Majesty, to a sum exceeding 20,000
roubles, not to mention the very considerable cost it brought on the
Cabinet in dispatching couriers into Siberia, Kamchatka and so forth,
to pick up a few words in different languages, meagre and of little
utility.
Paltry and imperfect as was this singular performance, it was
extolled as an admirable dictionary, and was to me at that time an
occasion of much disgust and vexation.
Semén Andréevich Poroshín. (1741-1769.)
Poroshín studied in the military school, where he
distinguished himself for his knowledge of foreign languages
and mathematics. Even as a student, he became a
contributor to literary magazines. After leaving school, he was
attached as adjutant to Peter III. From 1762 he was teacher of
mathematics to Paul, whom he tried to impress with a sense
of duty and love of country. In 1764 and 1765 he kept a diary
of his relations to the young Grand Duke, hoping some day to
use it as material for a history of his reign. In 1769 he died
during an expedition against Turkey, being then commander
of a regiment of infantry.

FROM HIS “DIARY”

October 29, 1764.—Having dressed himself, his Highness sat


down to study. Then he went incognito to his drawing-room to get a
look at the Turkish ambassador, who was having an audience with
his Excellency Nikíta Ivánovich. He was received in the same
manner as the first time. But when I arrived, his Highness did not
receive me so kindly as to make me satisfied with him. I do not wish
now to enter into any especial discussion of the cause of it, but will
only remark that his Highness is frequently greatly influenced by the
remarks made in regard to absent persons which he happens to
overhear. I have repeatedly noticed that if anything favourable or
laudatory is said in his hearing of someone, his Highness later
shows himself kindly disposed to him; if, on the contrary, something
unfavourable and deprecatory is said of anyone, especially when the
remark is not made directly to his Highness, but as if by accident, he,
seeing him, appears to be cold to him.
We seated ourselves at the table. His Excellency Nikíta Ivánovich
did not dine with us. Of outsiders there was only Count Alexander
Sergyéich Stroganóv. I have suffered terrible anguish to-day at table.
How could one help suffering, considering what had taken place?
We were talking about Peter the Great. Someone, passing in silence
all the great qualities of that monarch, deemed it proper to dwell only
on the fact that the Tsar used often to get drunk, and that he beat his
ministers with his cane. Another person, incautiously emulating this
conversation, which ought in no way be tolerated in the presence of
his Highness, added that when the Tsar was at one time beating with
his cane one of his generals who was a German, the latter later
repeated from the Bible: “The hand of the Lord was upon me, etc.”
The first person continued, saying that history knew only of two royal
wallopers, Peter I. and the late King of Prussia, the father of the
present King. Later he began to praise Charles XII., the King of
Sweden; I told him that Voltaire had written that Charles XII.
deserved to be the first soldier in Peter the Great’s army. Upon this
his Highness asked whether it was really so. The speaker answered
his Highness that it was very likely written that way, but that it was
nothing but mere flattery.
When I later spoke of the Emperor’s letters, which he had written
from abroad to his ministers, and remarked that for the correct
understanding of his time it was necessary to have these letters, and
that I possessed many of them, and so forth, the first speaker did not
deign to make any other remarks thereupon except that these letters
were very funny because the Emperor often addressed them to “Min
Her Admiral,” and signed them “Piter.” I found it difficult to dissemble
my dissatisfaction, and to subdue my excitement.
I leave it to the whole intelligent and unbiassed world whether it is
proper to let his Imperial Highness, the heir apparent of the Russian
throne, and a great-grandchild of Emperor Peter the Great, to be a
witness to such malicious remarks. Xenophon has represented in his
Cyrus a perfect king, and his rule a beneficent rule, and an example
for the emulation of the monarchs of future generations. Senseless
historians in many points contradict Xenophon’s history, and try to
point out the weaknesses of his hero. But clever and far-sighted men
care very little whether Cyrus was really such as Xenophon has
painted him, or otherwise, and extol the historian for having given us
a perfect model for kings, and they adduce his wise rule as an
example for them to follow. Thus, too, many other monarchs, whose
great deeds history has preserved to our own days, are adduced as
an example. Is it not necessary to present to his Highness the
praiseworthy deeds of famous heroes, in order to rouse in him the
desire and noble impulse of emulating them? That seems to be
evident and incontrovertible. Now, whose deeds will awaken in him a
greater attention, will produce a stronger effect upon him, and are
more important for his knowledge, than the deeds of Emperor Peter
the Great of blessed memory? They are esteemed great and
glorious in the whole subsolar world, and are proclaimed with
ecstasy by the lips of the sons of Russia. The Grand Duke, his
Highness’s own grandchild, was born in the same nation, and by the
decree of God will in time be the ruler of the same nation.
If there had never been on the Russian throne such an
incomparable man as was his Highness’s great ancestor, it would be
useful to invent him, for his Highness’s emulation. But we have such
a famous hero,—and what happens? I do not mean to say that the
Emperor Peter the Great was free from imperfections. Who of
mortals is? As many great men as history knows have all been
subject to certain weaknesses. But when they are used as
examples, we must not sermonise about their vices, but about their
virtues. Vices may either entirely be passed over in silence, or they
may be mentioned, but only incidentally, with the remark that the
ruler who is taken as a model tried his best to free himself from them
and that he overcame them. And the very opposite has happened....
At table Prince Baryatínski remarked that during his stay in
Sweden he had heard that all the wearing apparel, sword, boots and
everything else that had belonged to King Charles XII. was
preserved in the arsenal. I retorted that in our Museum are
preserved the wearing apparel and other belongings of Peter the
Great, but that we naturally had more reason to keep these things
than the Swedes, because the one defended his country and
brought it to a nourishing condition, while the other had brought his
to such ruin that even to the present day it has not been
resuscitated, and that, of course, not one intelligent Swede could
mention the name of Charles XII. without disgust. Prince Sergyéich
assented to this. Then the conversation turned to Keissler’s travels,
and then to the academic translators Teplóv, Golubtsóv and
Lébedev. I said that they knew and translated Russian well. The first
speaker remarked to that: “And yet they all died the same death,
namely, from drinking.” Thereupon the Grand Duke turned to me and
said: “Now, you hear that yourself. I suppose that is not a lie?” I
answered that I did not know them intimately, that I was not
acquainted with the manner of their demise, and that equally I did
not know where that gentleman got his information.
February 28, 1765.—His Highness arose at eight o’clock. After
having dressed himself, he sat down to his customary studies. After
his lesson he looked with me carefully at the road map to Moscow,
and recollected where and how we passed the time on our last
journey thither. I read to his Highness Vertot’s History of the Order of
Maltese Knights. Then he amused himself with his toys, and,
attaching to his cavalry the flag of the admiralty, imagined himself a
Maltese Knight. At ten o’clock we sat down to breakfast. We spoke
of Moscow and dramatic performances. We were about to rise from
table, when someone, I do not remember who, asked for butter and
cheese. The Grand Duke became angry at the butler and said: “Why
did you not put it on the table before?” and then turning to us: “They
simply steal the things for themselves!” We all armed ourselves
against the Grand Duke and told him in French how bad it was to
insult in this way a man of whom he could not know whether he was
guilty or not.
When we left the table, this sermon was continued. Mr. Osterwald
and I told his Highness in strong terms how bad his action was, and
how easily he could cause those people to hate him. Then our
conversation turned to the labours that an Emperor must undertake.
His Highness remarked among other things: “But an Emperor cannot
work all the time! He needs also some rest, and his amusements.”
To this I retorted to the Grand Duke: “No one demands that an
Emperor should never have any rest, for that is above human
strength, and an Emperor is just such a man as anybody else; only
he has been exalted to his position by God for his nation, and not for
himself; that, consequently, he must use all his endeavour in the
welfare and advancement of his nation; that his amusements and
pleasures ought to consist in his knowledge and vivid representation
of the great mass of his subjects who through his labours and cares
enjoy well-being and numberless advantages, and of the flourishing
condition of his country as the result of his work, and how his name
will in just glory redound to the future generations.” These are the
exact words which I spoke to his Highness. He listened to them very
attentively.
September 20, 1765.—The birthday of his Imperial Highness; he is
eleven years old. His Highness arose a little after seven.... I was not
yet all dressed, when he appeared in my room, took me by my hand
and began to walk around with me. I congratulated the Tsarévich
upon his birthday, and explained to him my wishes in regard to him,
which were similar to those of all the faithful sons of the country.
Having dressed himself, he went into the yellow room. His
Reverence, Father Platón, addressed to the Tsarévich a short
congratulation, in which he presented very strongly and wittily our
wishes and hopes in the progress of his Highness’s studies. Then
his Highness went into the interior apartments to the Empress, and
from there with her Highness to church. At the end of the liturgy,
Father Platón spoke a sermon on the theme: “Settle it therefore in
your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer” (Luke xxi.
14). The whole sermon was beautiful. But especially the final
address to her Highness and the Grand Duke visibly moved the
hearts of all. Many eyes were seen in tears.... The Empress went
from church to her inner apartments, and his Highness followed her.
As we were there admitted to kiss her hand, she said among other
things: “Father Platón does with us what he wants. If he wants us to
weep, we weep; if he wants us to laugh, we laugh.”
The Satirical Journals (1769-1774), and Nikoláy
Ivánovich Nóvikov. (1744-1818.)
The first attempt at a periodical was made as early as the
year 1728, when literary essays were regularly added to the
news of the day in the St. Petersburg Gazette, but the first
literary journal was established in 1759 by Sumarókov under
the name of The Industrious Bee. The example of Russia’s
first littérateur was at once imitated by a number of private
individuals, and magazines became common, though their life
was nearly always very short. In 1769 there was issued by
Grigóri Kozítski, under Catherine’s supervision, the first
satirical journal, under the name of All Kinds of Things. During
the time of reforms, satire appears as a natural weapon of
attack against the old order of things, and there was,
therefore, nothing unusual in the popularity which this and the
following satirical journals attained. There is, however, also
another reason for their appearance. The English Spectator,
Tatler and Rambler were at that time well known in Russia,
and the literary part of the St. Petersburg Gazette brought out
a large number of translations from these English journals. All
Kinds of Things shows plainly the influence of Addison in the
tone of playful censure which was to Catherine’s liking and
which it cultivated.
Of the several satirical periodicals that followed, the Hell’s
Post; or, Correspondence between the Lame and the Halt
Devils, by F. Émin, and the famous Drone, by N. I. Nóvikov,
may be mentioned. The name of the latter is evidently chosen
in contradistinction to Sumarókov’s Industrious Bee, and its
editor, of whose imposing personality we shall speak later,
belonged to that enlightened class of men who were in
sympathy with the most advanced reforms, but had no love
for the flimsy Voltairism which pervaded Russian society, and,
like the Slavophile Shcherbátov (see p. 287), thought he
discerned some stern virtues in the generations preceding the
reforms of Peter the Great. He therefore set out to scourge
vice wherever he found it. The satirical journals were divided
into two camps: some clung to the mild and harmless satire of
All Kinds of Things, the others took the Drone for their model.
When the collaboration of Catherine in the first became
known, Nóvikov found it necessary to desist from his attacks,
to avoid the displeasure of the Empress, and soon his journal
stopped entirely. He later edited for a short time the Painter
and the Purse, but in 1774 all satirical journals ceased to
exist. The most important of these journals has been the
Painter, from which a generation of writers drew subjects for
their satire or comedy.
Nóvikov’s early education was received at the Gymnasium
connected with the Moscow University; he was excluded from
it in 1760 for laziness and insufficient progress. He soon
drifted into literature, and directed his attention to the
dissemination of useful knowledge among the people. He
developed a prodigious activity from 1772 to 1778, publishing
a large number of chronicles and documents dealing with
Russian antiquity. In 1779 he rented the University press for
ten years, published in three years more books than had been
issued by that institution in the preceding twenty-four years of
its existence, opened bookstores all over Russia and
encouraged and protected a whole generation of young
writers. He was a zealous Mason, and in that capacity
practised a most generous philanthropy by using the very
great income from his venture for the establishment of
charities and schools. Catherine was never favourable to the
Masons and other mystics who had got a firm foothold in St.
Petersburg and Moscow, and when the French Revolution
had broken out, she suspected such men as Radíshchev (see
p. 361) and Nóvikov of belonging to a secret society whose
object was the overturning of the existing order of things. At
first she ordered the metropolitan Platón to examine into the
soundness of Nóvikov’s religious views, but the enlightened
prelate reported: “I implore the all-merciful God that not only
in the flock which has been entrusted by God and you to me,
but in the whole world there should be such good Christians
as Nóvikov.” Nevertheless, Catherine later found an excuse
for seizing Nóvikov and imprisoning him in the fortress of
Schlüsselburg, from which he was released by Emperor Paul,
who is said with tears in his eyes and upon his knees to have
begged Nóvikov’s forgiveness for his mother’s cruelty to him.
He passed the rest of his days in his estate of Tikhvín.

FROM “ALL KINDS OF THINGS”

I lately went to dine in a Moscow suburb with a friend of mine. To


my great displeasure I found the house in great sorrow because his
wife had had a bad dream which threatened some danger to him,
her and their children. We seated ourselves at the table. Their
youngest boy, who was sitting at the end of the table, began to cry:
“Mamma, I shall begin my problems on Monday.” “On Monday!”
exclaimed his mother: “The Lord preserve us! Nobody begins
anything new on Monday. Tell the deacon to begin on Tuesday.” The
lady of the house asked me to pass her the salt. I hastened to do her
the favour, but, being timid and overzealous, I dropped the salt-cellar
in passing it. She trembled when she saw the mishap, and
immediately remarked that the salt was spilled in her direction.
Collecting herself again, she sighed and said to her husband: “My
darling, misfortune never comes single. You will remember that the
dove-cot broke down the same day our servant girl spilled the salt on
the table.” “Yes, I remember,” said her husband, “and next day we
received the news of the battle of Zorndorf.” I managed to finish my
dinner, though with a heavy heart. The dinner being over, I
accidentally placed my knife and fork crosswise on my plate. The
hostess asked me to put them together. I soon learned from the
lady’s behaviour that she looked upon me as an odd fellow and
foreboder of misfortunes.
Gentlemen:—He who writes All Kinds of Things ought not to
disdain anything. In this hope I, though a common labourer, take up
the pen without hesitation, thinking that you might find something of
interest in what I write. I have no intricate style, but write simply, just
as I think.
I am a silversmith. Though I was not born here, I love Russia. I am
not the only German whom it supports. The Lord may grant all to feel
as gratefully to Russia, but people feel differently about that. I work
for many people, among them for a French teacher. You know there
are bushels of them in Moscow. The one I am telling you about came
to his profession in a strange manner. He was originally a
shoemaker. Suddenly he was seized by the spirit of heroism, or, to
tell the truth, indolence and starvation compelled him to enlist as a
soldier. After the battle of Rossbach, he fled in company with many
others. He worked in many capacities, wandering about from place
to place, and finally reached Russia, where he developed the proper
qualifications for a coachman. But he soon grew tired of sitting on
the coachman’s seat, and had a strong desire of getting inside the
carriage. He found no easier way of accomplishing his ambition than
by becoming a teacher, emulating in this the example of many of his
countrymen who, some from the box, like him, others from the
footman’s stand, have found their way into the carriage. And he
succeeded. Thus a lazy shoemaker, runaway soldier and bad
coachman was turned into a first-class teacher. At least he appears
to me to be good because he pays promptly for my work and does
not feed me, as other gentlemen do, with to-morrows.

SOUND REASONING ADORNS A MAN

My teacher made me once a present of a doll on my name-day,


accompanying it with the following noteworthy words: “Every
brainless man is a doll.” I asked him whom he meant by the word
“brainless,” and he answered: “Him who obeys more his will than
established rules.” I wanted to know why. He said: “Will without rule
is licence, and licence is injurious to oneself and his neighbour,
whereas rules have been established in life in order to curb harmful
lusts.” I sighed and said: “Oh, I see, then our neighbour committed
an act of licence, and did not obey the established rules, when he
took away our meadows so that our cattle are starving.” “Our
neighbour,” he answered with a smile, “has his own rules. He
belongs to the class of people who say every morning: ‘Lord, I am in
need of everything, but my neighbour is in need of nothing.’”
We paid such a high salary to this teacher that my step-mother
found it necessary to dismiss him, in order to add one hundred
roubles to the cook’s wages, and another cheaper teacher was hired
for me. He belonged to the class of people who write in their will that
they are to be buried without being washed. His affection for his
ungrateful country was so strong that he always had the name of
Paris in his mouth, in spite of the fact that he had been driven out of
his country with the coat of arms of a full-blown lily imprinted on his
back.[144] He knew by heart the names of all the streets of Paris, and
the external walls of all the prominent buildings of that city were
familiar to him, but he had never had the courage to enter them. He
was so adorned with wisdom that he knew everything without having
studied anything. He had an absolute contempt for everything that
did not transpire in France. For other things he had no mind, for
frequently, in a fit of abstraction, he put other people’s property into
his pockets, the result of which was a certain misunderstanding, as
he called it, between him and the police. The police proved that he
had stolen, but he affirmed the word “steal” was the invention of
crass ignorance, and that an honest man must defend his honour
from the police by means of the rapier. So he invited the commissary
of police to fight a duel with him. The latter not being as good a talker
as he was wont to stick to incontrovertible proofs, ordered my mentor
to be cast into prison. My mother was quite put out about him, for
she said she did not know where to get another cheap teacher like
him. However, there arrived at that time some guests at our house
who assured her that that very day there had arrived in Moscow the
coachman of the French ambassador, with his scullion, hair-dresser,
courier and lackey, who did not wish to return with him, and that for
the common good of the people of Moscow they had the intention of
imparting their arts to those who wanted to be instructed for a
reasonable consideration, though somewhat higher than the price
they had received in the stable, kitchen, kennel, or for blackening
shoes and making wigs.
I once went to see my friend and, as he was not at home, went to
his wife’s apartments. She had stepped down into the nursery. As I
am quite at home there, I went down into the nursery myself and
found her surrounded by her four children. The smallest boy started
crying; to pacify him, his mother made him beat the nurse with a
handkerchief. She pretended she was crying, while the mother kept
on repeating: “Beat her, my darling, beat well the stupid nurse! She
had no business annoying baby.” The child was trying to strike the
nurse hard; and the harder he struck her, she feigned weeping
harder, whereat the child smiled. A little while later, another child fell
down. The mother told it to spit on the floor and to kick the place
where it had stumbled. When I remarked that it was not good
education to allow the child to do that, she answered me: “My friend,
you are always philosophising. As if we had not been brought up in
the same way! Why should it be different with these babies?” Then I
heard the whining of a dog. I looked around and saw a third child
pinching a pup, while another child was frightening a canary bird by
striking with his hands against the cage: the poor little bird flitted
about distressed from one corner to another. I lost my patience, and
told their mother: “You are making tyrants of these children, if you do
not teach them to respect man and beast. I’ll tell your husband so!”
and I slammed the door as I went out.

FROM THE “DRONE”

RECIPE FOR HIS EXCELLENCY, MR. LACKSENSE

This nobleman suffers from a quotidian fever of boasting of his


family. He traces his family tree to the beginning of the universe, and
hates all those who cannot prove their aristocratic blood at least five
hundred years back, and loathes to speak with those whose nobility
is only a hundred years old or less. He shakes with fever the
moment somebody mentions burghers or peasants in his presence.
In opposition to the modern current appellation, he does not even
honour them with the name “low-born,” but in the fifty years of his
fruitless life he has not yet been able to find a proper term for them.
He does not travel to church nor in the streets, for fear of a dead
faint which would unavoidably fall upon him the moment he met an
ignoble man. Our patient complains hourly against fate for having
destined him to share the same air, sun and moon with the common
people. He wishes there were no other beings on the whole globe
but aristocrats, and that the common people should all be
annihilated. He had repeatedly handed in projects to that effect, and
they had been highly praised for the good and novel ideas contained
therein, though many rejected them, because the inventor
demanded three million roubles in advance in order to execute his
plans.
Our aristocrat hates and loathes all the sciences and arts, and
regards them as a disgrace for any noble gentleman. In his opinion a
blueblood can know everything without having learned it; but
philosophy, mathematics, physics and all the other sciences are
trifles that are below a nobleman’s attention. Books of heraldry and
letters patent that have just escaped the dust-pile and mould are the
only books which he continually reads by spelling out. Alexandrian
sheets, on which the names of his ancestors are written in circles,
are the only pictures with which his house is adorned. But to be
short; the trees by which he illustrates the descent of his family have
many a dry limb, but there is no more rotten twig upon them than he
himself is, and in all his family coats of arms there is not such a
beast as is his Excellency. However, Mr. Lacksense thinks differently
of himself, and worships himself as a great man in mind, and as a
small god in his nobility. To make the whole world believe the same
way, he tries to differ from all others, not by useful and glorious
deeds, but by magnificent houses, carriages and liveries, though he
spends on his foolishness all his income that ought to support him
ten years hence.
Recipe, to cure Mr. Lacksense of his fever.—It is necessary to
inoculate the sick man with a good dose of common sense and
philanthropy, in order to kill in him his empty superciliousness and
the lofty contempt for other people. Noble descent is, indeed, a great
privilege, but it will always be dishonoured if it is not fortified by
personal worth and noble services to your country. Meseems it is
more laudable to be a poor yeoman or burgher and a useful member
of society than a distinguished drone who is known only for his
stupidity, his house, carriages and liveries.

THE LAUGHING DEMOCRITOS

Bah! There is the miser in his rags and tags, who has all his life
been hoarding money and squandering his conscience; who is dying
from hunger and cold; who teaches his servants to eat to live, that is,
not more than is necessary to keep body and soul together; who is
known far and wide for his unlawful usury; who has imposed upon
himself and all his slave cattle a whole year’s fast; who in winter
heats his miserable hut only once a week; who is ready to sell
himself for a dime, and who has forty thousand roubles, in order to
leave them after his death to his stupid nephew, that seventeen-
year-old wretch who in miserliness and unscrupulous usury has
surpassed his uncle of sixty years; who steals money from himself
and takes a fine from himself for this theft; and who does not want to
get married all his life, only not to spend his income on his wife and
children. Oh, they deserve being laughed at. Ha, ha, ha!
Meseems I see his opposite. Of course, it is Spendthrift? Certainly.
Oh, that young man has not the vices of his father, but he is infested
by other vices, not less objectionable. His father hoarded money by
unlawful exactions, and he spends it recklessly. His miserly father
consumed in one month what he ought to have eaten in one day;
Spendthrift, on the contrary, devours in a day what he ought to eat
up in a year. The other walked in order not to spend money for the
feeding of the horses; this one keeps six carriages and six tandems,
not counting the saddle and sleigh horses, only that he may not get
tired of travelling all the time in one and the same carriage. The other
wore for twenty years the same miserable caftan; while to
Spendthrift twenty pairs a year seem too little. In short, his father
collected a great treasure through all illegal means, usury,
maltreatment of his kin, and ruin of the helpless; but Spendthrift ruins
himself and lavishes on others: they are both fools, and I laugh at
both. Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Who is galloping there so swiftly? Bah! it is Simple. He is hurrying
to some aristocratic house, to show there his stupidity. Simple glories
in visiting distinguished people. He goes to see them as often as
possible and, to please them, makes a fool of himself, then boasts to
others of the influence he has there. He takes part in their
conversations and, though he knows nothing, thinks he is posing as
a wise man; he reads books, but he does not understand them; goes
to the theatre, criticises the actors and, repeating what he has heard
elsewhere, speaks authoritatively: this actor is good, that one is bad.
He tells distinguished people all kinds of jokes, and wants to be
cutting in his remarks, though he never adapts them to the occasion;
in short, Simple tries to convince himself that his acts are intelligent,
but others think that they are silly. Ha, ha, ha!
Hypocrite steps humbly out of church and distributes to the poor
that surround him a farthing each, and counts them off on his rosary.
As he walks along, he mumbles his prayers. He turns his eyes away
from women, and shades them with his hands, for he avers he would
take them out if they tempted him. Hypocrite sins every minute, but
he appears as a righteous man that walks over a path strewn with
thorns. His simulated prayers, piety and fasts in no way keep him
from ruining and oppressing his like. Hypocrite has stolen thousands,
and he gives them away by farthings. By such appearances he
deceives many. He hourly preaches the nine virtues to young
people, but in the sixty years of his life he has never carried out one
himself. Hypocrite always walks humbly and never turns his looks to
heaven, for he cannot hope to deceive those that abide there; but he
looks upon the earth whose inhabitants he cheats. Ha, ha, ha!

FROM “HELL’S POST”

LETTER FROM HALT TO LAME

Last evening I took a walk in the park where nearly the whole town
disports itself twice a week. I seated myself with a friend on a bench:
four men, all acquaintances of my friend, passed by us; one of them
was an ex-officer who had left the service, in order that he may not
serve the Tsar, that he may cheat the world and become rich through
illegal means. All the pettifoggers and the minor officials at the court
of justice, and all the large litigators are known to him. He hardly
ever goes out of the Land Office, and even in other places there
appears almost every day a complaint of his. All the doubtful villages
are his, and he frequently makes application for them, proving that
they once belonged to his ancestors. He has no end of genealogies
in his pocket, and upon request can prove his descent from any
family he pleases. He buys promissory notes at a great discount,
and gets the money from the creditor with all the interest due
thereupon. If anybody borrows money from him, he never asks more
than five kopeks from the rouble a month, and he deducts the
interest in advance.

FROM LAME TO HALT

A certain secretary of a government office in this town got himself


into trouble by taking bribes, but he very soon freed himself through
his cunning. Although many orders explicitly demand that no bribes
should be received by officers, yet they insist that it is superhuman to
receive nothing from complainants. Many people of that class,
however, do not submit to the common weakness of the office, and
live on their incomes and salaries, but they have always empty
pockets. Scribe S. is much richer than Secretary V. because the one
sells every step of his, while the other attends to the affairs under his
charge for nothing. Now many of these gentlemen have discovered a
secret of stealing in a diplomatic way, that is, they no longer take
bribes themselves, but send the complainant to their wives, who
receive them very graciously. If he is a merchant, she asks for some
stuffs or velvet for a dress. When the goods have been brought to
her house, she says to the merchant: “My friend, come again in a
few days, and I will pay you!” The merchant knows what that means
and, being in need of her husband, goes home and for ever bids
good-bye to the goods he has furnished. If the complainant is a
nobleman, the officer’s wife tells him that she has no servant-girl, or
boy, and that she is compelled to do all the work herself; and the
complainant, having of necessity learned this conventional language,
answers her as she wants to be answered. Thus, in the taking of
bribes there has been produced this change: formerly the husband
was dishonest, now his wife helps him. But there are some officials
who are even more cunning and who steal in an honourable manner.
They invite the complainant who has any dealing with them to dinner,
after which they sit down and play cards with him. When they lose,
they assume a very angry look, but when they win, they look
exceedingly satisfied: this language the complainants have soon
learned to understand. To please the host, they throw off trumps and,
losing to the host, say two hundred roubles or as much as the host
expects for the case in hand, receive the next day a favourable
decision for it. Even the merchants have become refined and
frequent the houses of officials to play cards with them.

FROM THE “PAINTER”

To My Son Falaléy:—
Is that the way you respect your father, an honourably discharged
captain of dragoons? Did I educate you, accursed one, that I should
in my old age be made through you a laughing-stock of the whole
town? I wrote you, wretch, in order to instruct you, and you had my
letter published. You fiend, you have ruined me, and it is enough to
make me insane! Has such a thing ever been heard, that children
should ridicule their parents? Do you know that I will order you to be
whipped with the knout, in strength of ukases, for disrespect to your
parents! God and the Tsar have given me this right, and I have
power over your life, which you seem to have forgotten. I think I have
told you more than once that if a father or mother kills a son, they are
guilty only of an offence against the church.[145] My son, stop in time!
Don’t play a bad trick upon yourself: it is not far to the Great Lent,
and I don’t mind fasting then. St. Petersburg is not beyond the hills,
and I can reach you by going there myself.
Well, my son, I forgive you for the last time, at your mother’s
request. If it were not for her, you would have heard of me ere this,
nor would I have paid attention to her now, if she were not sick unto
death. Only I tell you, look out: if you will be guilty once more of

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