2023Torino TimeResolved
Citation
Torino, Stefania / Dhurandhar, Mugdha / Stroobants, Annelore / Claessens, Raf / Efremov, Rouslan G. Time-resolved cryo-EM using a combination of droplet microfluidics with on-demand jetting. 2023. Nature Methods, Vol. 20, No. 9, p. 1400-1408
Abstract
Single-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) allows reconstruction of high-resolution structures of proteins in different conformations. Protein function often involves transient functional conformations, which can be resolved using time-resolved cryo-EM (trEM). In trEM, reactions are arrested after a defined delay time by rapid vitrification of protein solution on the EM grid. Despite the increasing interest in trEM among the cryo-EM community, making trEM samples with a time resolution below 100 ms remains challenging. Here we report the design and the realization of a time-resolved cryo-plunger that combines a droplet-based microfluidic mixer with a laser-induced generator of microjets that allows rapid reaction initiation and plunge-freezing of cryo-EM grids. Using this approach, a time resolution of 5 ms was achieved and the protein density map was reconstructed to a resolution of 2.1 Å. trEM experiments on GroEL:GroES chaperonin complex resolved the kinetics of the complex formation and visualized putative short-lived conformations of GroEL–ATP complex.
Keywords
Links
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41592-023-01967-z