Nanofluidic chips for cryo-EM structure determination from picoliter sample volumes
S. Huber (TU Delft - BN/Arjen Jakobi Lab, Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
E. Sarajlic (SmartTip B.V.)
Roeland Huijink (SmartTip B.V.)
Felix Weis (European Molecular Biology Laboratory Heidelberg)
Wiel Evers (BN/Technici en Analisten, Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft)
A. Jakobi (Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft, TU Delft - BN/Arjen Jakobi Lab)
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Abstract
Cryogenic electron microscopy has become an essential tool for structure determination of biological macromolecules. In practice, the difficulty to reliably prepare samples with uniform ice thickness still represents a barrier for routine high-resolution imaging and limits the current throughput of the technique. We show that a nanofluidic sample support with well-defined geometry can be used to prepare cryo-EM specimens with reproducible ice thickness from picoliter sample volumes. The sample solution is contained in electron-transparent nanochannels that provide uniform thickness gradients without further optimisation and eliminate the potentially destructive air-water interface. We demonstrate the possibility to perform high-resolution structure determination with three standard protein specimens. Nanofabricated sample supports bear potential to automate the cryo-EM workflow, and to explore new frontiers for cryo-EM applications such as time-resolved imaging and high-throughput screening.
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