About cryo-EM

Cryo-EM is a technique that images biomolecules, in as near a physiological state as possible, by trapping them in a vitrified layer and visualising their projections using high-energy electrons at cryogenic temperatures.

Modern transmission electron microscopes utilise sensitive direct electron detectors and automated routines to capture noisy images at increasing magnifications and very low doses to minimise radiation damage to sensitive molecules.

Computational algorithms process millions of these diverse views of the target molecules, extracting the signal and generating an electron potential volume that can be used to construct an atomic model.