Informace o projektu
Development of a microfluidic specimen-preparation device for time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy

The goal of structural biology is to be able to understand how macromolecular complex functions. In traditional, non-time-resolved cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), this is accomplished by determination of static structures. Existing time-resolved techniques are difficult or inefficient, and thus have been rarely used. The goal of this proposal is to construct a customized cryo-preparation device specifically for the microfluidics-based time-resolved method that I previously helped develop.

The steps required for time-resolved cryo-EM are, as quickly as possible: 1) to initiate a chemical reaction, 2) to form an aqueous layer thin enough to transmit the electron beam, and 3) to arrest the chemical reaction in cryogen. The microfluidics-based method makes use of a device which mixes two components, sprays the mixture onto an EM grid, and then plunges the grid into cryogen.

The limitations of the current method are: the yield of sufficiently thin ice is low, the amount of specimen requires is large, and the hardware components are expensive. My aim is to circumvent these three limitations and make this technique accessible to as wide an audience as possible.