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Cryo-electron Microscopy

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...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 23, 2026

Manual Blot-and-Plunge Freezing of Biological Specimens for Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

Manual Blot-and-Plunge Freezing of Biological Specimens for Single-Particle Cryogenic Electron Microscopy

Published on: February 7, 2022

Cryo-EM--the first thirty years.

¹DEE, Biophore, Faculty of Biology andMedicine, University of Lausanne, CH-1015 Lausanne, Switzerland. Jacques.Dubochet@unil.ch

Journal of Microscopy

|March 30, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Vitrification of pure water revolutionized electron microscopy. This technique transformed water from a sample contaminant to a crucial element for high-resolution imaging.

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Last Updated: May 23, 2026

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Area of Science:

Microscopy
Biophysics
Materials Science

Background:

Historically, water was considered a detrimental contaminant in electron microscopy.
Specimen preparation often involved harsh dehydration or fixation methods.

Observation:

A 1981 paper in The Journal of Microscopy introduced the vitrification of pure water.
This technique involved rapidly freezing water to form amorphous ice.

Findings:

Vitrification enabled the preservation of biological samples in a near-native, hydrated state.
This breakthrough was pivotal for the advancement of cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM).

Implications:

Cryo-electron microscopy now allows for high-resolution structural determination of biomolecules.
The understanding and application of water's properties have significantly advanced imaging techniques.