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How neutrons help us understand the industrial production of therapeutic molecules

From drug delivery to the development of responsive materials, self-assembled supramolecular structures have many applications. Understanding their organisation and reaction to external parameters is key. In a new study, researchers explore the effect of high pressures taking full advantage of ILL’s leadership in this domain.

A recently published study uses neutron scattering to shed light on texturisation - the black box for plant-based meat analogues - through in-situ real-time observations of the process. The challenge is increasingly relevant for the food industry as consumer concerns about sustainability, health and animal welfare rise.

In an article published in ACS Macro Letters, a team of physicochemists describes a novel approach which uses neutron and light scattering to monitor in situ the self-assembly of amphiphilic block copolymers in near-equilibrium conditions. These results offer a wealth of possibilities for observing and better understanding the organisation of complex biological and synthetic macromolecules in aqu…

What exactly happens inside a cell during thermal death was, until recently, a hotly debated question. Collaborative research led by Alessandro Paciaroni, Associate Professor at the University of Perugia, Judith Peters, Professor of Physics at the Université Grenoble Alpes and Fabio Sterpone, CNRS…

30 November 2022 Foam structural evolution as seen by SANS and optical imaging. Front cover of the 46th issue of the Soft Matter journal. Credit: S.Monfront, ILL Foams are everywhere, in food, beverages, detergents and cosmetics, as well as industrial processes such as recycling, oil recovery and firefighting. There is thus significant interest in the d…

Samuel Winnall and Wenke Müller are currently carrying out their PhDs as part of the InnovaXN programme. While Samuel specialises in reflectometry and molecular dynamics simulations, Wenke specialises in small-angle scattering, and is focused on kinetics and contrast variation. These two young and talented entrepreneurs, following their first steps into the large-scale facilities playground, decided to bring together their expertise and experience with neutron techniques to tackle modern industry problems.

Research has demonstrated the likely critical membrane fusion mechanism involved when the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infects human cells.SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is from a family of single-stranded positive sense RNA viruses named β-coronaviruses. SARS-CoV-2 and oth…

11th October 2018: Grenoble, France – Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) the world’s flagship neutron facility, hosts the global neutron community in its hometown to discuss the future of neutron science in Europe and highlight cutting-edge research in the field. Neutron science is critical to Europe’s scientific impact. The ILL has enabled globally significant research in this field for over 50 years,…

Credit: Institut Laue-Langevin/ University of Leicester An international research team led by the University of Leicester has made a breakthrough advance by trapping an intermediate in the mechanism of enzymes called heme peroxidases and determining its structure u…

Credit: MPI-ILL 5.09.2016Understanding microbe adaptation to extreme environments remains a challenge of high biotechnological potential—in bioremediation and waste management, for example.Halomonas microorganisms isolated from the oceans or salt marshes, reversibl…

Neutron reflectometry reveals SARS-CoV-2 spike protein induces lipid stripping from cell membrane, leading to a greater understanding of SARS-CoV-2 infection mechanisms and potential therapeutics. 22 July 2021Scientists at the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), in colla…