New pressure cells for membrane layers and systems in solutions up to 100°C

In reply to the increasing request of structural and molecular dynamics data taken on biological samples at both high temperature and high pressure by neutron scattering techniques, we have developed a new generation of high pressure cells with the following characteristics: (1) a flat geometry to better exploit the neutron beam’s cross section, (2) utilisable in the pressure range between 0 and 600 MPa and up to 100°C, (3) adapted for studies by coherent and incoherent neutron scattering, and (4) compatible with all types of neutron diffractometers and spectrometers at the Institut Laue-Langevin in Grenoble, France. Such high pressure cells permit to explore domains of pressure ( p ) and temperature ( T ) inaccessible so far, to establish ( p , T ) diagrams and determine phase transitions. They are particularly adapted to the investigation of biological systems living under extreme conditions, as for instance extremophiles living near hot vents in the deep sea, or the response of biomolecules to extreme loads.