Exploring the amyloid state of proteins by micro

Summary•Micro-X-ray diffraction has enabled the determination ofthe atomic structures of the amyloid state, includingdesign of inhibitors and partial definition of the amyloidpharmacophor•The structures of still smaller crystals are needed tounderstand the toxic mechanism of amyloid perhapswith LCLS• LCLS offers the possibility of learning the atomicstructure of ordered aggregates within biological cells,including amyloid aggregates