A simple and robust procedure for preparing graphene-oxide cryo-EM grids

Publication date: Available online 11 July 2018Source: Journal of Structural BiologyAuthor(s): Eugene Palovcak, Feng Wang, Shawn Q. Zheng, Zanlin Yu, Sam Li, Miguel Betegon, David Bulkley, David A. Agard, Yifan ChengAbstractGraphene oxide (GO) sheets have been used successfully as a supporting substrate film in several recent cryogenic electron-microscopy (cryo-EM) studies of challenging biological macromolecules. However, difficulties in preparing GO-covered holey carbon EM grids have limited their widespread use. Here, we report a simple and robust method for covering holey carbon EM grids with GO sheets and demonstrate that these grids can be used for high-resolution single particle cryo-EM. GO substrates adhere macromolecules, allowing cryo-EM grid preparation with lower specimen concentrations and provide partial protection from the air-water interface. Additionally, the signal of the GO lattice beneath the frozen-hydrated specimen can be discerned in many motion-corrected micrographs, providing a high-resolution fiducial for evaluating beam-induced motion correction.

Source: Journal of Structural Biology - July 12, 2018 Category: Biology Source Type: research