Features
Ease of use
The graphical user interface of EasySAXS facilitates particularly easy and efficient access to all software functionalities and parameter settings. Experimental SAXS data and analysis results are shown in two graphics panes.
Data can be displayed in various ways, e.g. using lin/log or log/log scales, or in a Guinier, Porod or Kratky plot. A message pane informs about the progress of calculations and displays hints and warnings, when necessary.
All data analysis steps, including all details, can be stored in a project file. This allows to resume your analysis at a later point in time or to share your analysis scheme with others. All data can be exported for further processing or display with other software, if desired.
SAXS data analysis options
EasySAXS software contains a comprehensive toolbox that supports the full chain of SAXS data analysis.
- Primary data handling, such as background subtraction and desmearing
- Radius of gyration by Guinier analysis
- Nanoparticle size distribution
- Particle shape by pair distribution function analysis
- Surface area by Porod analysis
- Scattering invariant and Porod volume
- Model fitting and simulations for various particle shapes and structures
- USAXS data analysis
The analysis parameters can be conveniently set in the Object Inspection Pane of the software.
Data can be exported for further in-depth analysis with publicly available SAXS software packages such as ATSAS, Irena and SASfit.
Automation and reporting
Beginners and less experienced users can get started quickly by using the automatic mode of EasySAXS. It enables for automated particle and pore size distribution analysis of multiple data files by applying analysis templates that contain pre-defined parameter settings. The results are then summarized in customizable analysis reports and exported as ASCII files.
A variety of analysis templates, applicable for different sample types, are delivered with EasySAXS. Users can also create their own templates for specific samples of interest.
Help system
EasySAXS contains a comprehensive, context-sensitive Help system. It includes step-by-step instructions for all tasks, parameter descriptions, theoretical background information, references to the scientific literature, as well as some worked examples. An additional Quick Start Guide helps you to explore the concept of using the software in the automatic and interactive modes.
A collaboration with world-class scientists at the EMBL
Some of the algorithms used in EasySAXS are based on codes from the renowned ATSAS software suite developed by Dr. Dmitri Svergun and his team at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Hamburg, Germany. These include pair distance distribution function and particle size distribution analyses enabled by indirect Fourier transformation calculations.
ATSAS is a popular program suite for small-angle scattering data analysis from biological macromolecules. Experimental SAXS data acquired with ScatterX78 from dilute protein solutions can be pre-processed with EasySAXS and then exported to ATSAS for further in-depth analysis, e.g. ab initio protein shape reconstruction.
Specifications
The total package
The EasySAXS package includes a Quick Start Guide as well as a detailed electronic Help function. It also contains analysis templates for automatic batch processing of experimental data and example files for performing exercises. EasySAXS runs under Windows 7, Windows 8.1 (64bit) and Windows 10 (64 bit).
Current version: 2.2