Electron crystallography of linear polysaccharides.

The present article illustrates how the use of electron diffraction data coupled with realistic molecular modeling can yield to unambiguous structural elucidation of linear polysaccharides in the crystalline state. The series of the original ab initio quantitative crystal structure analyses is presented, along with a description of the methods. Pertinent examples showing the unique ability and utility of electron crystallography to yield new structural insights for biologically interesting macromolecules are given.