Optimized negative-staining electron microscopy for lipoprotein studies.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Negative-staining (NS), a rapid, simple and conventional technique of electron microscopy (EM), has been commonly used to initially study the morphology and structure of proteins for half a century. Certain NS protocols however can cause artifacts, especially for structurally flexible or lipid-related proteins, such as lipoproteins. Lipoproteins were often observed in the form of rouleau as lipoprotein particles appeared to be stacked together by conventional NS protocols. The flexible components of lipoproteins, i.e. lipids and amphipathic apolipoproteins, resulted in the lipoprotein structure being sensitive to the NS sample preparation parameters, such as operational procedures, salt concentrations, and the staining reagents.

Scope of review

The most popular NS

SUBMITTER: Zhang L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3508368 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature