Recently, Prof. Sun Junliang, Professor at School of Chemical and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, and co-founder of Qingyun Ruijing, has been invited to be the co-editor of the electronic crystallography section of the IUCrJ journal, which is an authoritative and high-impact journal in the field of crystallography founded by the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), and mainly contains excellent research results in the fields of chemistry, biology, physics, and materials science. IUCrJ is an authoritative and highly influential journal in the field of crystallography, founded by the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr), which mainly contains excellent research results on structure in the fields of chemistry, biology, physics, and materials science.

Prof. Junliang Sun

IUCrJ invited Prof. Junliang Sun to be the Co-Editor of the Electronic Crystallography section. He is accredited for his outstanding contributions in the field of electronic crystallography, which will also promote the academic exchanges between China and the international community, and enhance the technological strength of China's electronic crystallography. For ReadCrystal, this will enhance the company's technological advancement and professionalism in the field of electronic crystallography, and play a positive role in improving the company's professionalism and popularity.

Co-Editor, Electron Crystallography Board

Prof. Junliang Sun started his research on crystal structure analysis methods based on 3D electron diffraction in 2007. As a representative expert in the field of electronic crystallography and the only recipient of the National Outstanding Young Scientist Fund in China in this field, Prof. Sun has been polishing and refining the development and application of MicroED technology for nearly ten years. He has successfully completed the crystal structure analysis of a variety of complex materials, such as covalent organic framework materials, conductive metal-organic framework materials, lithium cobaltate, oxygen-ion conductors, etc., with the use of this technology. He has published more than 40 papers in top international journals, contributing greatly to the atomic structure verification of many complex materials and their future design and application.

June 2022, Prof. Junliang Sun published his latest article in Nature Communication

Electron crystallography is a combination of electron microscopy techniques and crystallography. The application of three-dimensional electron diffraction (also known as MicroED) helps scientists to discover new crystal structures. Due to the short wavelength of electrons, they are more strongly scattered by matter and thus can achieve higher resolution; and the crystal size required is very small, with micro- and nanometer-sized crystals producing diffraction signals with sufficiently high signal-to-noise ratios. As a result, the emergence of MicroED technology has greatly improved the probability of crystal structure resolution and has brought many once-impossible structures into the view of scientists. In addition to structural analysis, MicroED technology can also be of great help in monitoring microscopic processes such as molecular motions in crystals, adsorption of gas molecules, and molecule-protein interactions in drugs.

How MicroED works

Based on the rapid development of electronic crystallography in just over a decade, and its great contribution to the field of scientific research, in 2018, the top international journal Science, listed MicroED technology as one of the top ten scientific and technological advances of the year. At the beginning of this year, IUCr also specially added a column on electron crystallography in its magazine, which is used to specifically include high-quality research results in this field, promote the communication and development of the discipline of electron crystallography, and enhance the application of this discipline in its field and cross-disciplines. This initiative from the level of the International Union of Colleges and Universities (IUCr) once again recognizes the rapid and powerful development of electron crystallography and the important position of electron crystallography in the field of crystallography. It is hoped that the technology of electron crystallography can continue to climb up the scientific peaks, and bring more advances and changes to the world's science and technology.

IUCr became a proud member of the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) on April 7, 1947. Established as a preeminent international scientific union, its mission is to promote global collaboration in crystallography. As a cornerstone of the academic world and the foremost authority in the field, the IUCr is dedicated to advancing the standardization and normalization of all crystallography-related disciplines. Beyond this, it focuses on the integration of crystallography into diverse scientific realms, developing interdisciplinary applications and innovations at the intersection of sciences.

IUCr Young Scientist Award Winners at the 2018 Asian Crystallographic Association Meeting

Founded by Prof. Junliang Sun in collaboration with Prof. Xiaoguang Lei of Peking University and Dr. Leifeng Liu, a graduate of Stockholm University, ReadCrystal is a biopharmaceutical  Contract Research Organization (CRO) focusing on the field of structure analysis. At the forefront of innovation, the company has independently developed the world's leading MicroED structure analysis platform. This cutting-edge technology, combined with CryoEM-SPA and synchrotron radiation single crystal X-ray diffraction (XRD), provides customers with the most advanced and customized solutions in the three business segments of Structural Biology, Pharmaceutical Solid-State Research, and Structural Characterization of New Materials.