Affiliations: [a] Dep. of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Delaware, 150 Academy Street, Newark, DE 19716, USA | [b] NIST Center for Neutron Research, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA | [c] Dep. of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA | [d] Dep. of Chemical and Life Science Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, 601 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284, USA
Abstract: The 2nd biennial International Society for Sample Environment (ISSE) School included training on high pressure (HP) cells for Soft Matter studies. Neutron research centers are responding to a growing need for HP experimental data, relevant to a broad range of applications in bioscience, biotechnology and others. The importance of disseminating designs and operating protocols, to support concerted efforts towards the advancement of sample environment instrumentation across research centers, was repeatedly acknowledged at the ISSE school. The liquid insertion HP system for SANS, currently used at the NIST Center for Neutron Research for solutions of biological macromolecules, is described here. Emphasis is placed on the context of subzero temperature studies and the design challenges. The current model of the HP system – HP up to 3.5 kbar and −18°C < T < +80°C – uses sample volumes of 2.7 ml to cover an accessible q-range of 0.001–0.6 Å−1.
Keywords: High pressure, subzero temperature, Bio-SANS, small angle neutron scattering
