GCPCC User Information
Users, both GCPCC and non-consortium, may apply for beamtime by completing a Beamtime Request Form and e-mailing it to GCPCC for the Project Reference Number just use your name. Include a brief description of your project, the materials you will bring to the beamline and any hazards they present. If your experiment is non-hazardous please state so explicitly. In the e-mail transmitting the Beamtime Request Form state when you would like beam time. You can find the schedule for the next several months here. The beamline staff will make every effort to accommodate your request.
Everyone conducting experiments at CAMD must pass the Radiation Safety Test and be issued a dosimeter. See “New Users” below.
In addition to the traditional onsite access, we can also provide mail-in data collection (“FedEx data collection”). To utilize this option, contact the GCPCC staff requesting beamtime, and state that you would like to take advantage of mail-in data collection.
There is no charge for non-proprietary research at CAMD. It is possible to do proprietary research at CAMD by paying for the cost of the beam time.
New Users
Before their first visit to CAMD all users must take and pass the online CAMD Radiation Safety Test, which may be taken online prior to your visit. To log in use “LSU-CAMD”. List Dr. Bellamy as your CAMD contact. You can prepare for the test by reading the Radiation Safety Training section . You may take the test as many times as you need to pass. The results of the test are sent to the CAMD Safety Officer who will reserve a dosimeter for you.
When you arrive at the beamline you will need $10 as a deposit for your access card. The access card may be kept as long as you anticipate doing work at CAMD. You will also be issued a dosimeter which you should wear whenever you are in the Experimental Hall. Since the dosimeters are issued to monitor radiation dose in the experimental hall you should not wear it outside the hall. You will be assigned a drawer in a cabinet outside the Experimental Hall to store your dosimeter.
All Users
All substances brought to the beamline should return with you when your beamtime is over. We can, however, store crystals in a storage Dewar in anticipation of returning for more data collection.
If desired, samples may be shipped in a dry shipper to CAMD in advance of your visit.
Ship them to:
PX Beamline c/o Henry Bellamy
CAMD/LSU6980
Jefferson Hwy
Baton Rouge, LA 70806
(225) 578-9342
The beamline staff should be informed of any samples being shipped to CAMD along with a tracking number. The simplest way to do this is to e-mail the information. Be aware that CAMD does not receive shipments on weekends.
Returning Users
Make sure that your radiation safety training is up to date. Radiation safety training must be renewed once a year, either by attending a radiation safety seminar (usually offered at CAMD's annual user meeting) or by retaking the online CAMD Radiation Safety Test. If your training has expired your access card will not allow access to the Experiment Hall. If you are unsure of whether your training is up to date, contact the beamline staff prior to your visit.
Acknowledgement
It is very important to the future funding of our facilities that the agencies who provide the money get proper acknowledgment for their support. In your publications reporting work done at our beamline please include an acknowledgment statement something like:
"Data used in this publication were collected at the Gulf Coast Protein Crystallography (GCPCC) Beamline at the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices (CAMD). This beamline is supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) grant DBI-9871464 with co-funding from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)
PDB Deposition
It is similarly important to future funding that there be a web-based electronic record of our productivity. If any data that resulted in a structure were derived from our beamline, please include that in you PDB submission.
Reporting of Publications
References are an important factor in continuing funding for both CAMD and the GCPCC Protein Crystallography Beamline. Therefore we ask all users who have authored any publication on work performed in part or in whole at CAMD to e-mail these references to so that we may maintain a record of these references. We would also greatly appreciate a pdf of the article when it is published.