Recent Advances in Cryo Electron Microscopy and Tomography

TL;DR

Cryo-electron microscopy and tomography have advanced significantly, enabling high-resolution insights into biological structures and improving vaccine and drug design.

Contribution

The paper introduces new innovations in 300kV cryo-electron microscopy and integrated solutions to streamline cryo-ET workflows.

Findings

Technological advances in cryo-EM have achieved atomic resolution for biological macromolecules.

Integrated solutions like Tomography 5 and Tomo Live improve cryo-ET workflow efficiency and image quality.

New quality metrics on a web platform enhance user-friendliness and data analysis in structural biology.

Abstract

In the recent years, cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) single-particle analysis (SPA) has greatly benefited from a multitude of technological advances cumulating in breaking the atomic-resolution barrier for biological macromolecules. Since then, structural insights by cryo-EM have led to driving rational design of new vaccines and therapeutics due to high throughput and high-resolution screening and data collection technologies. Additionally, cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) has become an indispensable tool for structural cell biology. In this presentation we elaborate on the latest Thermo Fisher Scientific innovations for 300kV cryo electron microscopy for SPA and cryo-ET to advance more workflow efficiency and performance. Our ongoing mission is to further improve the connectivity between the cryo-FIB and cryo-TEM for an even more streamlined tomography workflow that is safer, faster and cleaner. Data acquisition and processing can be a significant cryo-ET bottleneck. Our integrated solution, combining Thermo Scientific Tomography 5 and Tomo Live, automates pre-acquisition tasks, enhances productivity with predictive tracking and enables rapid quality assessment. Robust and optimized motion correction helps produce crisp tomograms and image quality needed for sub-tomogram averaging. Results are displayed with new quality metrics on a web platform, making the workflow user-friendly and facilitating structural biology advancements.