Facile hermetic TEM grid preparation for molecular imaging of hydrated biological samples at room temperature.

ABSTRACT: Although structures of vitrified supramolecular complexes have been determined at near-atomic resolution, elucidating in situ molecular structure in living cells remains a challenge. Here, we report a straightforward liquid cell technique, originally developed for real-time visualization of dynamics at a liquid-gas interface using transmission electron microscopy, to image wet biological samples. Due to the scattering effects from the liquid phase, the micrographs display an amplitude contrast comparable to that observed in negatively stained samples. We succeed in resolving subunits within the protein complex GroEL imaged in a buffer solution at room temperature. Additionally, we capture various stages of virus cell entry, a process for which only sparse structural data exists due to thei

SUBMITTER: Kong L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10499825 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature