| 1. |
- Bielecki, Johan, 1982, et al.
(author)
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Electrospray sample injection for single-particle imaging with x-ray lasers
- 2019
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In: Science advances. - : American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). - 2375-2548. ; 5:5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The possibility of imaging single proteins constitutes an exciting challenge for x-ray lasers. Despite encouraging results on large particles, imaging small particles has proven to be difficult for two reasons: not quite high enough pulse intensity from currently available x-ray lasers and, as we demonstrate here, contamination of the aerosolized molecules by nonvolatile contaminants in the solution. The amount of contamination on the sample depends on the initial droplet size during aerosolization. Here, we show that, with our electrospray injector, we can decrease the size of aerosol droplets and demonstrate virtually contaminant-free sample delivery of organelles, small virions, and proteins. The results presented here, together with the increased performance of next-generation x-ray lasers, constitute an important stepping stone toward the ultimate goal of protein structure determination from imaging at room temperature and high temporal resolution.
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| 2. |
- Kördel, Mikael, et al.
(author)
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Biological Laboratory X-Ray Microscopy
- 2019
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In: X-Ray Nanoimaging. - : SPIE - International Society for Optical Engineering. - 9781510629189
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Zone-plate-based soft x-ray microscopes operating in the water window allow high-resolution and high-contrast imaging of intact cells in their near-native state. Laboratory-source-based x-ray microscopes are an important complement to the accelerator-based instruments, providing high accessibility and allowing close integration with other cell-biological techniques. Here we present recent biological applications using the Stockholm laboratory water-window x-ray microscope, which is based on a liquid-nitrogen-jet laser-plasma source. Technical improvements to the microscope in the last few years have resulted in increased x-ray flux at the sample and significantly improved stability and reliability. In addition to this, vibrations in key components have been measured, analyzed and reduced to improve the resolution to 25 nm half-period. The biological applications include monitoring the development of carbon-dense vesicles in starving human embryonic kidney cells (HEK293T), imaging the interaction between natural killer (NK) cells and HEK293T target cells, and most recently studying a newly discovered giant DNA virus and the process of viral replication inside a host amoeba. All biological imaging was done on cryo-frozen hydrated samples in 2D and in some cases 3D.
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| 3. |
- Reddy, Hemanth K.N., et al.
(author)
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Electron cryo-microscopy of bacteriophage PR772 reveals the elusive vertex complex and the capsid architecture
- 2019
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In: eLIFE. - : ELIFE SCIENCES PUBLICATIONS LTD. - 2050-084X. ; 8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Bacteriophage PR772, a member of the Tectiviridae family, has a 70 nm diameter icosahedral protein capsid that encapsulates a lipid membrane, dsDNA, and various internal proteins. An icosahedrally averaged CryoEM reconstruction of the wild-type virion and a localized reconstruction of the vertex region reveal the composition and the structure of the vertex complex along with new protein conformations that play a vital role in maintaining the capsid architecture of the virion. The overall resolution of the virion is 2.75 angstrom, while the resolution of the protein capsid is 2.3 angstrom. The conventional penta-symmetron formed by the capsomeres is replaced by a large vertex complex in the pseudo T = 25 capsid. All the vertices contain the host-recognition protein, P5; two of these vertices show the presence of the receptor-binding protein, P2. The 3D structure of the vertex complex shows interactions with the viral membrane, indicating a possible mechanism for viral infection.
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