Open Access
Open access
AIMS Biophysics, volume 9, issue 1, pages 5-20

A basic introduction to single particles cryo-electron microscopy

Publication type: Journal Article
Publication date: 2021-01-01
Journal: AIMS Biophysics
scimago Q4
SJR: 0.220
CiteScore: 2.4
Impact factor: 1.1
ISSN: 23779098
Biochemistry
Molecular Biology
Structural Biology
Biophysics
Abstract
<abstract> <p>In the last years, cryogenic-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) underwent the most impressive improvement compared to other techniques used in structural biology, such as X-ray crystallography and NMR. Electron microscopy was invented nearly one century ago but, up to the beginning of the last decades, the 3D maps produced through this technique were poorly detailed, justifying the term “blobbology” to appeal to cryo-EM. Recently, thanks to a new generation of microscopes and detectors, more efficient algorithms, and easier access to computational power, single particles cryo-EM can routinely produce 3D structures at resolutions comparable to those obtained with X-ray crystallography. However, unlike X-ray crystallography, which needs crystallized proteins, cryo-EM exploits purified samples in solution, allowing the study of proteins and protein complexes that are hard or even impossible to crystallize. For these reasons, single-particle cryo-EM is often the first choice of structural biologists today. Nevertheless, before starting a cryo-EM experiment, many drawbacks and limitations must be considered. Moreover, in practice, the process between the purified sample and the final structure could be trickier than initially expected. Based on these observations, this review aims to offer an overview of the principal technical aspects and setups to be considered while planning and performing a cryo-EM experiment.</p> </abstract>
Found 0
By date By citations

Top-30

Journals

1
Springer Series on Fluorescence
Springer Series on Fluorescence, 1, 50%
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews, 1, 50%
1

Publishers

1
Springer Nature
Springer Nature, 1, 50%
American Society for Microbiology
American Society for Microbiology, 1, 50%
1
  • We do not take into account publications without a DOI.
  • Statistics recalculated only for publications connected to researchers, organizations and labs registered on the platform.
  • Statistics recalculated weekly.

Are you a researcher?

Create a profile to get free access to personal recommendations for colleagues and new articles.
Metrics
Share
Cite this
GOST | RIS | BibTex | MLA
Found error?