@article{ea8639aa0f44440bbed5c99bc6f55f4e,
title = "Understanding the invisible hands of sample preparation for cryo-EM",
abstract = "Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is rapidly becoming an attractive method in the field of structural biology. With the exploding popularity of cryo-EM, sample preparation must evolve to prevent congestion in the workflow. The dire need for improved microscopy samples has led to a diversification of methods. This Review aims to categorize and explain the principles behind various techniques in the preparation of vitrified samples for the electron microscope. Various aspects and challenges in the workflow are discussed, from sample optimization and carriers to deposition and vitrification. Reliable and versatile specimen preparation remains a challenge, and we hope to give guidelines and posit future directions for improvement.",
keywords = "CRYOELECTRON MICROSCOPY, GRID PREPARATION, MACROMOLECULAR COMPLEXES, VITRIFICATION SYSTEM, STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY, RESOLUTION, SPECIMEN, TOMOGRAPHY, ACTIVATION, DENSITY",
author = "Giulia Weissenberger and Henderikx, {Rene J. M.} and Peters, {Peter J.}",
note = "Funding Information: This manuscript is dedicated to Dominique Hubert, who participated in Vitrobot and cryo-EM instrument development and who passed away much too young. We would like to thank S. Muench, J. Frank, H. White, A. de Marco, J. Rubinstein, B. Carragher, M. Darrow and T. Braun for providing detailed input and reviewing the table. We thank R. Ravelli and F. Nijpels for helpful discussions and W. Hagen, P. Frederik, H. Nguyen and A. Gijsbers for critically reading the manuscript. Finally, we thank M. de Backer and J. Dabekaussen for contributing to the figures. This work received funding from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) in the framework of the Fund New Chemical Innovations, numbers 731.014.109 and 731.016.407, as well as from the province of Limburg, the Netherlands. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021, Springer Nature America, Inc.",
year = "2021",
month = may,
doi = "10.1038/s41592-021-01130-6",
language = "English",
volume = "18",
pages = "463--471",
journal = "Nature Methods",
issn = "1548-7091",
publisher = "Nature Publishing Group",
number = "5",
}