Shake-it-off: a simple ultrasonic cryo-EM specimen-preparation device.

ABSTRACT: Although microscopes and image-analysis software for electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) have improved dramatically in recent years, specimen-preparation methods have lagged behind. Most strategies still rely on blotting microscope grids with paper to produce a thin film of solution suitable for vitrification. This approach loses more than 99.9% of the applied sample and requires several seconds, leading to problematic air-water interface interactions for macromolecules in the resulting thin film of solution and complicating time-resolved studies. Recently developed self-wicking EM grids allow the use of small volumes of sample, with nanowires on the grid bars removing excess solution to produce a thin film within tens of milliseconds from sample application to freezing. Here, a simple cryo-

SUBMITTER: Rubinstein JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6889916 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature