Role of surfactants in electron cryo-microscopy film preparation.

ABSTRACT: Single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) has become an effective and straightforward approach to determine the structure of membrane proteins. However, obtaining cryo-EM grids of sufficient quality for high-resolution structural analysis remains a major bottleneck. One of the difficulties arises from the presence of detergents, which often leads to a lack of control of the ice thickness. Amphipathic polymers such as amphipols (APols) are detergent substitutes, which have proven to be valuable tools for cryo-EM studies. In this work, we investigate the physico-chemical behavior of APol- and detergent-containing solutions and show a correlation with the properties of vitreous thin films in cryo-EM grids. This study provides new insight on the potential of APols, allowing a better c

SUBMITTER: Michon B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10209149 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature