Single particle cryo-EM is used for determining the 3D structure of biological macromolecules such as proteins and nucleic acid complexes. The technique involves imaging of many (tens or hundreds of thousands) copies of a purified macromolecule under cryo-conditions. Then, computer-based image processing is used to combine the different views of the macromolecule and reconstruct a 3D map. Technical advances in recent years have made it possible to obtain near-atomic resolution maps, and the key developers of the technique were awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
All the workflow for performimg high-resolution single particle cryo-EM is available at the EM Unit. This includes a state-of-the-art Titan Krios TEM equipped with direct detectors. Detailed protocols can be found on the EMU Wiki.
Example projects
Structure of Type-I Mycobacterium tuberculosis fatty acid synthase at 3.3 Å resolution
Elad N., Baron S., Peleg Y., Albeck S., Grunwald J., Raviv G., Shakked Z., Zimhony O. & Diskin R. (2018) Nature Communications. 9, 3886.
Detection of isolated protein-bound metal ions by single-particle cryo-STEM
Elad N., Bellapadrona G., Houben L., Sagi I. & Elbaum M. (2017) PNAS. 114, 42, p. 11139-11144
Proteins evolve on the edge of supramolecular self-assembly
Garcia-Seisdedos H., Empereur-Mot C., Elad N. & Levy E. D. (2017) Nature. 548, 7666, p. 244-247