Self-assembling peptides imaged by correlated liquid cell transmission electron microscopy and MALDI-imaging mass spectrometry.

ABSTRACT: We describe the observation of stimuli-induced peptide-based nanoscale assemblies by liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM). LCTEM offers the opportunity to directly image nanoscale materials in liquid. Despite broad interest in characterizing biological phenomena, electron beam-induced damage remains a significant problem. Concurrently, methods for verifying chemical structure during or following an LCTEM experiment have been few, with key examples limited to electron diffraction or elemental analysis of crystalline materials; this strategy is not translatable to biopolymers observed in nature. In this proof-of-concept study, oligomeric peptides are biologically or chemically stimulated within the liquid cell in a TEM to assemble into nanostructures. The resulting materials

SUBMITTER: Touve MA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6811541 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature