Modern X-ray scattering studies of complex biological systems

X-ray scattering is one of the most prominent structural characterization techniques in biology. The key advantage of X-ray scattering is its ability to penetrate and weakly interact with the bare studied materials. In addition, X-ray scattering does not require any tags, markers or modification to the sample under examination, and is not limited by the nature of the surrounding environment. The main handicapping limitation of X-ray scattering is the subject of particles polydispersity. However, the monodispersity in biological complexes and supra-molecular interactions makes them ideal for structural and interaction studies in particular when combined with higher (e.g. NMR) and/or lower resolution (e.g. optical microscopy) techniques. This review seeks to highlight some of the major recent achievements in the field of X-ray scattering as being implemented for complex biological systems.

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► We review modern advances to characterize biological nano-complexes using X-ray scattering.
► X-ray scattering is used to study both the structures and macro-molecular interactions.
► Contemporary techniques include integration of complementary techniques together with X-ray scattering.
► Novel computational and technological advances, including coherent scattering technique, will be discussed.