ID30B: A decade of versatility, automation and innovation in Structural Biology

With nearly 1000 depositions in the Protein Data Bank and over 600 peer-reviewed publications, ID30B has overly proven to be a very successful and productive beamline for structural biology at the ESRF and is highly demanded by academic and industrial users alike.

ID30B is the successor to the renowned ID14-4 and is currently the second energy-tunable beamline constructed after ID23-1. It delivers a highly stable beam suitable for in situ experiments and operates predominantly in remote mode, enabling scientists to conduct experiments from their home institutes or even from home. On weekends, diffraction data collection runs in a fully automated, unattended mode.

“Our main research on ID30B focus on disease-related targets, such as the discovery of a new inhibitor that prevents malaria parasites from infecting red blood cells.  However, we are also seeing growing interest in environmental proposals”, explains Mueller-Dieckmann. A notable example is the work by the company CARBIOS and the Toulouse Biotechnology Institute, which has led to the development of a biosourced plastic embedded with an enzyme that ensures rapid biodegradation and compostability, overcoming the hurdles of currently used plastics.

“Over the years, the beamline has also evolved, serving as a testbed for innovative ESRF-EMBL technologies, including the MD2S diffractometer allowing in situ screening of crystallisation plates and microfluidic devices at room temperature, the FlexHCD sample changer, and the first commissioning of the EMBL’s automated crystal harvester”, explains Andrew McCarthy, EMBL scientist.

Looking ahead, major upgrades are underway. A Pilatus 4M detector equipped with a CdTe sensor will be installed in December 2025, enabling for experiments at higher energies. A newly design monochromator will extend the energy range and improve beam stability, and the possibility to adapt the beam to different sizes.

An upcoming X-ray imaging micro-tomography set-up, installation of online Raman spectroscopy, and tools for high-pressure experiments, with the availability of different sample holders, make ID30B an all-rounder that can welcome a wide array of experimental applications.

These advancements, together with the integration of AI tools —ranging from structure prediction to automated data analysis and interpretation—will further enhance the beamline’s capabilities to uncover insights into key molecular mechanisms underlying health, disease, and environmental change.

Read more:

Malaria research: https://www.esrf.fr/home/news/general/content-news/general/new-hope-in-the-fight-against-malaria.html

Moussaoui, D., Robblee, J.P., Robert-Paganin, J. et al. Mechanism of small molecule inhibition of Plasmodium falciparum myosin A informs antimalarial drug design. Nat Commun 14, 3463 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38976-7

CARBIOS research: https://www.esrf.fr/home/Industry/industry-news/content-news/esrf-news-list/new-enzyme-embedded-plastic-degrades-rapidly-overcoming-current-obstacles.html

Guicherd, M., et al. Nature 631, 884–890 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07709-1

Text by Montserrat Capellas Espuny

Top image: Andrew McCarthy (left) and Christoph Müller-Dieckmann on the ID30B beamline. Credits: S. Candé.