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Accelerating cryo-EM screening at EMSL by 25-fold


EMSL Project ID
60907

Abstract

Cryo-Electron Microscopy (cryo-EM) is a powerful structural biology technique since it does not require crystallization (unlike X-ray), does not require ultrahigh purity (unlike NMR) and provides direct few-Å resolution information of all atoms (unlike EPR or APT). It also permits whole cell observation of every density from lipids, DNA/RNA and proteins (unlike super-resolution microscopy which only resolves signal from fluorescently labeled structures). While aspects of the cryo-EM workflow are automated, sample generation and grid freezing optimization remain critical bottlenecks and for many samples are the most time-consuming steps. Here we propose to accelerate the cryo-EM screening and vitrification optimization stages by developing reproducible methods for depositing a 5x5 array on a single cryo-EM grid to increase throughput 25-fold.

Project Details

Start Date
2023-10-01
End Date
N/A
Status
Active

Team

Principal Investigator

James Evans
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Team Members

Omar Davulcu
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Trevor Moser
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory

Lye Meng Markillie
Institution
Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory