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Related Concept Videos

Overview of Electron Microscopy01:25

Overview of Electron Microscopy

The wavelengths of visible light ultimately limit the maximum theoretical resolution of images created by light microscopes. Most light microscopes can only magnify 1000X, and a few can magnify up to 1500X. Electrons, like electromagnetic radiation, can behave like waves, but with wavelengths of 0.005 nm, they produce significantly greater resolution up to 0.05 nm as compared to 500 nm for visible light. An electron microscope (EM) can create a sharp image that is magnified up to 2,000,000X.
Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy01:37

Super-resolution Fluorescence Microscopy

Super-resolution fluorescence microscopy (SRFM) provides a better resolution than conventional fluorescence microscopy by reducing the point spread function (PSF). PSF is the light intensity distribution from a point that causes it to appear blurred. Due to PSF, each fluorescing point appears bigger than its actual size, and it is the PSF interference of nearby fluorophores that causes the blurred image. Various approaches to achieving higher resolution through SRFM have recently been developed.
Cryo-electron Microscopy01:28

Cryo-electron Microscopy

Conventional electron microscopy (EM) involves dehydration, fixation, and staining of biological samples, which distorts the native state of biological molecules and results in several artifacts. Also, the high-energy electron beam damages the sample and makes it difficult to obtain high-resolution images. These issues can be addressed using cryo-EM, which uses frozen samples and gentler electron beams. The technique was developed by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, for...
Scanning Electron Microscopy01:07

Scanning Electron Microscopy

A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is used to study the surface features of a sample by using an electron beam that scans the sample surface in a two-dimensional manner. Typically, areas between ~1 centimeter to 5 micrometers in width can be imaged. SEM can be used to image bacteria, viruses, tissues as well as larger samples like insects. Conventional SEM gives a magnification ranging from 20X to 30,000X and spatial resolution of 50 to 100 nanometers.
Fundamental Principles
Accelerated...
Transmission Electron Microscopy01:15

Transmission Electron Microscopy

In 1931, physicist Ernst Ruska—building on the idea that magnetic fields can direct an electron beam just as lenses can direct a beam of light in an optical microscope—developed the first prototype of the electron microscope. This development led to the development of the field of electron microscopy. In the transmission electron microscope (TEM), electrons are produced by a hot tungsten element and accelerated by a potential difference in an electron gun, which gives them up to 400 keV in...
Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction01:07

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) can be used to determine the 3D structure of biological samples with the help of techniques such as electron microscope tomography and single-particle reconstruction. While single-particle reconstruction can examine macromolecules and macromolecular complexes in vitro conditions only, tomography permits the study of cell components or small cells in vivo.
Electron Tomography
Electron tomography can be performed either in TEM or STEM (scanning transmission...

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Correlative Super-resolution and Electron Microscopy to Resolve Protein Localization in Zebrafish Retina
12:28

Correlative Super-resolution and Electron Microscopy to Resolve Protein Localization in Zebrafish Retina

Published on: November 10, 2017

Resolution measures in molecular electron microscopy.

Pawel A Penczek1

  • 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas, Houston Medical School, Houston, Texas, USA.

Methods in Enzymology
|October 5, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Resolution measures in molecular electron microscopy assess macromolecular structure quality using reciprocal space consistency. These methods relate to spectral signal-to-noise ratio, guiding optimal map filtration and addressing practical evaluation challenges.

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Area of Science:

  • Molecular Electron Microscopy
  • Structural Biology
  • Biophysics

Background:

  • Evaluating macromolecular structure quality from 2D projections is crucial in molecular electron microscopy.
  • Low-detail density maps lack external standards for resolution assessment.
  • Reciprocal space consistency measures are employed when direct judgment is not feasible.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To describe standard resolution measures in electron microscopy.
  • To explain the relationship between these measures and spectral signal-to-noise ratio (SSNR).
  • To discuss practical challenges in resolution evaluation.

Main Methods:

  • Description of standard resolution evaluation techniques in electron microscopy.
  • Analysis of the link between resolution measures and SSNR.
  • Discussion of data processing impacts on resolution assessment.

Main Results:

  • Resolution measures evaluate reciprocal space consistency, presented as 1D functions of spatial frequency.
  • The organizing principle is the relationship between measures and SSNR.
  • Framework established to connect resolution evaluation outcomes with map quality and optimal filtration.

Conclusions:

  • Resolution measures are vital for assessing macromolecular structure quality in electron microscopy.
  • Understanding the SSNR relationship aids in interpreting resolution evaluations.
  • Practical difficulties, including data processing sensitivity, affect resolution assessment in single particle analysis and electron tomography.