Modern X-ray analysis on single crystals – a practical guide
Peter Luger presents the second edition of his classic textbook on crystallography. It treats the topic from the viewpoint of an organic chemist, that is, he refers to the methods how most of the single crystal structures in the Cambridge Crystallographic Database (and also the Protein Data Bank) were determined. All basic concepts of structure determination are described in an appealing and concise manner. It is characteristic of the entire book that it begins with the description of the actual crystallographic experiment, namely data acquisition. Luger describes in detail the rotation method. He also covers both the Weissenberg and precession method and their significance with regard to unit cell and space group determination. The theoretical concepts of space groups and their subtopics like Bravais lattices and point groups are clear and easy to understand. Often, symmetry and space groups are explained in a dry manner and detached from the crystal. Luger always keeps close to their relevance for data acquisition, their influence on the diffraction pattern and on the subsequent structure determination – very helpful for students who have not yet made practical experience. The next chapters return to the description of diffraction instruments, to structure solution, and to structure refinement. This second edition is not a mere revision. It pays due respect to the vast and manifold developments of the past three and a half decades that have past since the first edition. Techniques like the film method have been replaced with data collection using area detectors and have thus been shortened. The book was expanded by a new chapter that describes various applications of crystallography beyond what was possible in the 1980s. The book provides thorough overviews, for example, on high-pressure crystallography, charge density and multipole refinement. Even differences between small molecule and macromolecular crystallography are described. The latter was only at its infancy during the first edition. Each chapter illustrates the theory by means of four example structures. They, too, were adjusted to modern times as they now include the structure of vitamin B12 and of a fullerene. Both molecules contain more than 50 atoms and would have been unthinkable as tutorial data. Overall the readability of the book was further improved by moving the chapter on mathematical concepts to the appendix. Like the film method, some of the approaches, which were vital at the time of the first edition, were shortened but not entirely deleted: Luger recognizes their value for the student and the insight they provide into the world of symmetry and how data collection works. Nowadays, these insights are usually hidden behind an easy to use graphical user interface. Peter Luger addresses a broad readership. Quoting from the summary description, “Essential reading for researchers from the student to the professional level [ . . . ].”