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Visualization of biological macromolecules at near‐atomic resolution: cryo‐electron microscopy comes of age
Author(s) -
Mitra Alok K.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
acta crystallographica section f
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.572
H-Index - 37
ISSN - 2053-230X
DOI - 10.1107/s2053230x18015133
Subject(s) - cryo electron microscopy , electron microscope , resolution (logic) , biomolecule , nanotechnology , electron , materials science , chemistry , physics , optics , computer science , nuclear magnetic resonance , artificial intelligence , quantum mechanics
Structural biology is going through a revolution as a result of transformational advances in the field of cryo‐electron microscopy (cryo‐EM) driven by the development of direct electron detectors and ultrastable electron microscopes. High‐resolution cryo‐EM images of isolated biomolecules (single particles) suspended in a thin layer of vitrified buffer are subjected to powerful image‐processing algorithms, enabling near‐atomic resolution structures to be determined in unprecedented numbers. Prior to these advances, electron crystallography of two‐dimensional crystals and helical assemblies of proteins had established the feasibility of atomic resolution structure determination using cryo‐EM. Atomic resolution single‐particle analysis, without the need for crystals, now promises to resolve problems in structural biology that were intractable just a few years ago.