Blotting-free and lossless cryo-electron microscopy grid preparation from nanoliter-sized protein samples and single-cell extracts

作者：Arnold Stefan A; Albiez Stefan; Bieri Andrej; Syntychaki Anastasia; Adaixo Ricardo; McLeod Robert A; Goldie Kenneth N; Stahlberg Henning; Braun Thomas^*

来源：Journal of Structural Biology, 2017, 197(3): 220-226.

DOI：10.1016/j.jsb.2016.11.002

• Cryo electron microscopy
• Sample preparation
• Microfluidics

We present a sample preparation method for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) that requires only 320 nL of sample to prepare a cryo-EM grid, depending on the protocol used. The sample is applied and spread on the grid by a microcapillary. The procedure does not involve any blotting steps, and realtime monitoring allows the water film thickness to be assessed and decreased to an optimum value prior to vitrification. We demonstrate that the method is suitable for high-resolution cryo-EM and will enable alternative electron microscopy approaches, such as single-cell visual proteomics.

• 出版日期2017-3