Download MendeleyNanofluidic chips for cryo-EM structure determination from picoliter sample volumes.
Huber, S.T., Sarajlic, E., Huijink, R., Weis, F., Evers, W.H., Jakobi, A.J.(2022) Elife 11
- PubMed: 35060902
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.72629
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:
7OHF - PubMed Abstract:
Cryogenic electron microscopy has become an essential tool for structure determination of biological macromolecules. In practice, the difficulty to reliably prepare samples with uniform ice thickness still represents a barrier for routine high-resolution imaging and limits the current throughput of the technique. We show that a nanofluidic sample support with well-defined geometry can be used to prepare cryo-EM specimens with reproducible ice thickness from picoliter sample volumes. The sample solution is contained in electron-transparent nanochannels that provide uniform thickness gradients without further optimisation and eliminate the potentially destructive air-water interface. We demonstrate the possibility to perform high-resolution structure determination with three standard protein specimens. Nanofabricated sample supports bear potential to automate the cryo-EM workflow, and to explore new frontiers for cryo-EM applications such as time-resolved imaging and high-throughput screening.
Organizational Affiliation:
Department of Bionanoscience, Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands.
