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Functionalized graphene grids with various charges for single-particle cryo-EM.

ABSTRACT: A major hurdle for single particle cryo-EM in structural determination lies in the specimen preparation impaired by the air-water interface (AWI) and preferential particle-orientation problems. In this work, we develop functionalized graphene grids with various charges via a dediazoniation reaction for cryo-EM specimen preparation. The graphene grids are paraffin-assistant fabricated, which appear with less contaminations compared with those produced by polymer transfer method. By applying onto three different types of macromolecules, we demonstrate that the high-yield charged graphene grids bring macromolecules away from the AWI and enable adjustable particle-orientation distribution for more robust single particle cryo-EM structural determination.

SUBMITTER: Lu Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9640669 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Functionalized graphene grids with various charges for single-particle cryo-EM.

Lu Ye Y Liu Nan N Liu Yongbo Y Zheng Liming L Yang Junhao J Wang Jia J Jia Xia X Zi Qinru Q Peng Hailin H Rao Yu Y Wang Hong-Wei HW

Nature communications 20221107 1

A major hurdle for single particle cryo-EM in structural determination lies in the specimen preparation impaired by the air-water interface (AWI) and preferential particle-orientation problems. In this work, we develop functionalized graphene grids with various charges via a dediazoniation reaction for cryo-EM specimen preparation. The graphene grids are paraffin-assistant fabricated, which appear with less contaminations compared with those produced by polymer transfer method. By applying onto ...[more]

PMID: 36344519

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