Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

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...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Publisher Correction: In situ nanocrystal confinement for efficient blue perovskite LEDs.

Nature·2026

Same author

Epithelial cells fire voltage spikes.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same author

In situ nanocrystal confinement for efficient blue perovskite LEDs.

Nature·2026

Same author

Visualization of oligomerization, clustering, and density transition of intrinsically disordered proteins.

National science review·2026

Same author

Interface in Focus: Opportunities and Challenges of Nanopipette Dynamic Microscopy.

ACS applied materials & interfaces·2025

Same author

Influence of eco-friendly float replacement on microplastic pollution and their metal adsorption behavior in Sanggou Bay, China.

Marine environmental research·2025

Same journal

Chemotactic self-organization captures the dynamics of mammalian hair follicle patterning.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Tomographic imaging of superconducting order using particle-hole interference.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Inhibitory potential of autologous neutralizing antibodies sets quantitative limits on the rebound-competent HIV-1 reservoir.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Inferring epidemiological parameters under an infectious phylogeography model with visitor dynamics.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Analytical modeling for suction cup designs for skin-interfaced wearable devices.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

Same journal

Improving cell-free metabolism through direct integration of artificial respiratory chains.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2026

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Dynamics of Eukaryotic DNA Replication Through Single-Molecule Visualization

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Dynamics of Eukaryotic DNA Replication Through Single-Molecule Visualization

Published on: September 27, 2024

The ergodicity question when imaging DNA conformation using liquid cell electron microscopy.

Jia-Ye Li¹, Fan Liu^1,2, Jing Xu^1,2

¹Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences, College of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, National Biomedical Imaging Center, Key Laboratory of Polymer Chemistry & Physics of Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|January 9, 2024

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Graphene liquid cell electron microscopy reveals that circular DNA loops interconvert reversibly. This technique acts as a slow-motion camera, showing equilibrated DNA loop distributions at low electron doses.

Keywords:

TEM ergodicity graphene liquid cell

More Related Videos

Imaging Replicative Domains in Ultrastructurally Preserved Chromatin by Electron Tomography

Imaging Replicative Domains in Ultrastructurally Preserved Chromatin by Electron Tomography

Published on: May 20, 2022

Visualization of DNA Compaction in Cyanobacteria by High-voltage Cryo-electron Tomography

Visualization of DNA Compaction in Cyanobacteria by High-voltage Cryo-electron Tomography

Published on: July 17, 2018

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 15, 2026

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Dynamics of Eukaryotic DNA Replication Through Single-Molecule Visualization

Author Spotlight: Unraveling the Dynamics of Eukaryotic DNA Replication Through Single-Molecule Visualization

Published on: September 27, 2024

Imaging Replicative Domains in Ultrastructurally Preserved Chromatin by Electron Tomography

Imaging Replicative Domains in Ultrastructurally Preserved Chromatin by Electron Tomography

Published on: May 20, 2022

Visualization of DNA Compaction in Cyanobacteria by High-voltage Cryo-electron Tomography

Visualization of DNA Compaction in Cyanobacteria by High-voltage Cryo-electron Tomography

Published on: July 17, 2018

Area of Science:

Biophysics
Materials Science
Electron Microscopy

Background:

Graphene liquid cell electron microscopy (GLCEM) offers a novel way to study biological molecules in solution.
Understanding the ergodicity of these measurements is crucial for validating their results.

Purpose of the Study:

To assess the ergodicity of graphene liquid cell electron microscope measurements for circular DNA.
To determine if DNA loop states in GLCEM reflect bulk solution behavior.

Main Methods:

Utilized 80-keV electron energy and low electron dose rates (1-20 e⁻ Å⁻² s⁻¹) for imaging.
Analyzed the interconversion and distribution of loop states in circular DNA molecules within the graphene liquid cell.

Main Results:

Observed reversible interconversion of loop states in circular DNA.
Demonstrated that loop numbers follow the Boltzmann distribution, consistent with bulk solution behavior.
Confirmed ergodicity under low electron dose conditions.

Conclusions:

Graphene liquid cell electron microscopy is an ergodic technique for studying DNA.
The method acts as a 'slow motion' camera, revealing equilibrated distributions by time averaging.
Low electron doses are essential for accurate representation of bulk solution dynamics.