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Scanning Electron Microscopy

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.
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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...

X-ray Imaging

X-ray Imaging

German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen (1845–1923) was experimenting with electrical current when he discovered that a mysterious and invisible "ray" would pass through his flesh but leave an outline of his bones on a screen coated with a metal compound. In 1895, Röntgen made the first durable record of the internal parts of a living human: an "X-ray" image (as it came to be called) of his wife’s hand. Scientists worldwide quickly began their own experiments with X-rays, and by 1900, X-ray was widely...

Overview of Electron Microscopy

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.

$X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples$ 01:10

X-ray Diffraction of Biological Samples

X-ray diffraction or XRD is an analytical tool that utilizes X-rays to study ordered structures such as crystalline organic and inorganic samples, polycrystalline materials, proteins, carbohydrates, and drugs.
According to Bragg's law, when X-rays strike the sample positioned on a stage, the rays are scattered by the electron clouds around the sample atoms. The X-ray diffraction or scattering is caused by constructive interference of the X-ray waves that reflect off the internal crystal...

Electron Microscope Tomography and Single-particle Reconstruction

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
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$Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene$

Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene

Published on: August 22, 2017

Molecular imaging using X-ray free-electron lasers.

Anton Barty¹, Jochen Küpper, Henry N Chapman

¹Center for Free-Electron Laser Science, DESY, 22607 Hamburg, Germany. anton.barty@desy.de

Annual Review of Physical Chemistry

|January 22, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

New hard X-ray free-electron laser facilities enable unprecedented structural determination. These powerful tools allow studying complex systems and ultrafast reactions at the femtosecond scale.

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Area of Science:

Structural biology
Physical chemistry
Materials science

Background:

The advent of hard X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs) marks a significant advancement in scientific instrumentation.
Facilities like the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) provide extremely short and intense X-ray pulses.

Purpose of the Study:

To highlight the capabilities of new XFEL facilities for structural determination.
To explore novel applications in studying challenging systems and dynamic processes.

Main Methods:

Utilizing ultrashort X-ray pulses (down to 10 fs) with high photon flux (up to 10(13) photons/pulse).
Achieving high focused irradiances (10(18) to 10(21) W cm(-2)) at X-ray energies from 500 eV to 10 keV.
Employing advanced X-ray scattering and diffraction techniques.

Main Results:

Enabling structural determination of samples that are difficult or impossible to crystallize.
Providing insights into the time-resolved dynamics of irreversible reactions at femtosecond resolution.
Opening new avenues for investigating matter under extreme conditions.

Conclusions:

XFELs revolutionize structural biology and materials science by overcoming previous limitations.
Femtosecond time-resolved studies of irreversible reactions are now feasible.
These advancements promise deeper understanding of fundamental chemical and physical processes.