journal article·2021-10-26

Atomically Thin Bilayer Janus Membranes for Cryo-electron Microscopy

Liming Zheng, Nan Liu, Ying Liu, Ning Li, Jincan Zhang, Chongzhen Wang, Wenqing Zhu, Yanan Chen, Dongchen Ying, Jie Xu, Zi Yang, Xiaoyin Gao, Jilin Tang, Xiaoge Wang, Zibin Liang, Ruqiang Zou, Yuzhang Li, Peng Gao, Xiaoding Wei, Hong-Wei Wang, Hailin Peng

ACS Nano· Volume 15· Issue 10
Publisher page

Abstract

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has emerged as a vital tool to reveal the native structure of beam-sensitive biomolecules and materials. Yet high-resolution cryo-EM analysis is still limited by the poorly controlled specimen preparation and urgently demands a robust supporting film material to prepare desirable samples. Here, we developed a bilayer Janus graphene membrane with the top-layer graphene being functionalized to interact with target molecules on the surface, while the bottom layer being kept intact to reinforce its mechanical steadiness. The ultraclean and atomically thin bilayer Janus membrane prepared by our protocol on one hand generates almost no extra noise and on the other hand reduces the specimen motion during cryo-EM imaging, thus allowing the atomic-resolution characterization of surface functional groups. Using such Janus membranes in cryo-EM specimen preparation, we were able to directly image the lithium dendrite and reconstruct macromolecules at near-atomic resolution. Our results demonstrate the bilayer Janus design as a promising supporting material for high-resolution cryo-EM and EM imaging.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications · Force Microscopy Techniques and Applications · Electron and X-Ray Spectroscopy Techniques

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Center for Nanochemistry, Beijing Science and Engineering Center for Nanocarbons, Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Protein Sciences, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

State Key Laboratory for Turbulence and Complex System, Department of Mechanics and Engineering Science, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Beijing Innovation Center for Engineering Science and Advanced Technology, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

International Center for Quantum Materials and Electron Microscopy Laboratory, School of Physics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles California 90095, United States

School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Tsinghua-Peking Joint Center for Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Beijing Key Laboratory for Theory and Technology of Advanced Battery Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China

Collaborative Innovation Center of Quantum Matter, Beijing 100871, China

Beijing Frontier Research Center for Biological Structures, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Beijing Graphene Institute (BGI), Beijing 100095, China

Funding

Ministry of Science and Technology of the People's Republic of China · National Natural Science Foundation of China

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