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Related Concept Videos

Cryo-electron Microscopy01:28

Cryo-electron Microscopy

4.6K
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...
4.6K

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 18, 2026

Cryo-Electron Microscopic Grid Preparation for Time-Resolved Studies using a Novel Robotic System, Spotiton
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Cryo-Electron Microscopic Grid Preparation for Time-Resolved Studies using a Novel Robotic System, Spotiton

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VitriFlex: An Open-Source, Modular, and Customizable Robotic Platform for Cryo-EM Grid Preparation.

Wyatt Peele1, Kedar Sharma1, Thomas B Stanley1

  • 1Genome Integrity & Structural Biology Laboratory National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services. Research Triangle Park, NC, US.

Biorxiv : the Preprint Server for Biology
|April 17, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

VitriFlex is an open-source platform for cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) specimen preparation. This automated system offers modularity and programmable control, enabling high-resolution cryo-EM data acquisition for various applications.

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Area of Science:

  • Structural Biology
  • Biophysics
  • Microscopy

Background:

  • Specimen preparation is a major challenge in cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM), impacting data quality.
  • Existing commercial systems are often closed, expensive, and lack experimental flexibility, especially for time-resolved studies.
  • There is a need for adaptable, accessible platforms for cryo-EM grid preparation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop an open-source, modular, and automated platform for cryo-EM specimen preparation.
  • To overcome limitations of current commercial plungers, particularly for time-resolved experiments and small sample volumes.
  • To enable researchers to customize and optimize grid preparation parameters.

Main Methods:

  • Developed VitriFlex, an open-source platform using a SCARA robot and 3D-printed components.
  • Implemented programmable control for grid handling, sample deposition (including acoustic-assisted spray), and blotting.
  • Enabled flexible sample delivery strategies like pre-mixing and on-grid mixing.

Main Results:

  • VitriFlex reproducibly produced high-quality, collectable grids for standard samples (apoferritin, dGTPase) and complex mixtures (spike-ACE2, α7-bungarotoxin).
  • Achieved high-resolution reconstructions from VitriFlex-prepared grids.
  • Demonstrated short spray-to-plunge delays (∼130 ms) for time-resolved biochemical reactions.

Conclusions:

  • VitriFlex provides a flexible, accessible, and customizable solution for routine and time-resolved cryo-EM.
  • The open-source nature lowers adoption barriers and facilitates integration of new components.
  • This platform advances cryo-EM specimen preparation, enabling high-resolution structural studies.