Latest News

Diamond Light Source MX Beamline Proposal Call for October 2026 - March 2027

09-Mar-2026

The call for proposals via peer-review for non-proprietary access to Diamond MX beamlines from October 2026 until March 2027 (AP40) is now open - see here. The deadline for this call is Wednesday 25th March at 17:00 hrs UTC/GMT.

Diamond Light Source, the UK’s national synchrotron, provides access for users worldwide to a suite of seven MX beamlines. The beamlines cover a very broad range of capabilities including: 

• high throughput including automated collections at cryogenic (I03, I04, I04-1, I24) and room temperature (VMXi) 
• micro (I04, I24, VMXi) and nano-focus (VMXm) beams for exploring the smallest of samples (1 micron upwards) or collecting from sweet spots in inhomogeneous crystals.
• extremely long wavelengths for identification and location of light atoms of biological relevance such as S, P, Cl, K and Ca and experimental phasing (I23) 
• room temperature in situ collection from crystallisation plates (VMXi) with access to the crystallisation facility (PXF) available. 
• (time resolved) serial synchrotron crystallography (I24) 
• the fragment-based drug discovery platform (XChem)  

Experiment sessions on the MX beamlines are via responsive scheduling, pre-scheduled visits (either remote or on-site) and automated unattended data collection.

The route for access through this call to I03, I04, I04-1 (grouped as MX in the UAS system) and I23, I24, VMXi, VMXm and the XChem facility is either via a two year Block Allocation Group (BAG) or 6 month standard access proposals. 

It's possible to select all (except XChem) that you may require in the allocation period in a single proposal to facilitate easy access to all our facilities. In addition, you can request access to high throughput biological SAXS (;">B21) in the same BAG proposal to add complimentary solution data to your structural studies.

XChem access is via a separate proposal - see here for this access route.

If you have any queries on particular beamline capabilities or techniques please contact the relevant principal beamline scientist or for general queries please contact mx-usersupport@diamond.ac.uk. 

For proprietary access please contact the Industrial Liaison Office.

Read next >