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Hata S, Ihara S, Saito H, Murayama M. In-situ heating-and-electron tomography for materials research: from 3D (in-situ 2D) to 4D (in-situ 3D). Microscopy (Oxf) 2024; 73:133-144. [PMID: 38462986 PMCID: PMC11000667 DOI: 10.1093/jmicro/dfae008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024] Open
Abstract
In-situ observation has expanded the application of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and has made a significant contribution to materials research and development for energy, biomedical, quantum, etc. Recent technological developments related to in-situ TEM have empowered the incorporation of three-dimensional observation, which was previously considered incompatible. In this review article, we take up heating as the most commonly used external stimulus for in-situ TEM observation and overview recent in-situ TEM studies. Then, we focus on the electron tomography (ET) and in-situ heating combined observation by introducing the authors' recent research as an example. Assuming that in-situ heating observation is expanded from two dimensions to three dimensions using a conventional TEM apparatus and a commercially available in-situ heating specimen holder, the following in-situ heating-and-ET observation procedure is proposed: (i) use a rapid heating-and-cooling function of a micro-electro-mechanical system holder; (ii) heat and cool the specimen intermittently and (iii) acquire a tilt-series dataset when the specimen heating is stopped. This procedure is not too technically challenging and can have a wide range of applications. Essential technical points for a successful 4D (space and time) observation will be discussed through reviewing the authors' example application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoshi Hata
- Faculty of Engineering Sciences, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
- The Ultramicroscopy Research Center, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Japan
| | - Shiro Ihara
- Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
| | - Hikaru Saito
- Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
- Pan-Omics Data-Driven Research Innovation Center, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
| | - Mitsuhiro Murayama
- Institute for Materials Chemistry and Engineering, Kyushu University, 6-1 Kasugakoen, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Virginia Tech, 445 Old Turner St., Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
- Reactor Materials and Mechanical Design Group, Energy and Environmental Directorate, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, PO Box 999, Richland, WA 99352, USA
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Brillault L, Landsberg MJ. Preparation of Proteins and Macromolecular Assemblies for Cryo-electron Microscopy. Methods Mol Biol 2020; 2073:221-246. [PMID: 31612445 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9869-2_13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Cryo-electron microscopy has become popular as the penultimate step on the road to structure determination for many proteins and macromolecular assemblies. The process of obtaining high-resolution images of a purified biomolecular complex in an electron microscope often follows a long, and in many cases exhaustive screening process in which many iterative rounds of protein purification are employed and the sample preparation procedure progressively re-evaluated in order to improve the distribution of particles visualized under the electron microscope, and thus maximize the opportunity for high-resolution structure determination. Typically, negative stain electron microscopy is employed to obtain a preliminary assessment of the sample quality, followed by cryo-EM which first requires the identification of optimal vitrification conditions. The original methods for frozen-hydrated specimen preparation developed over 40 years ago still enjoy widespread use today, although recent developments have set the scene for a future where more systematic and high-throughput approaches to the preparation of vitrified biomolecular complexes may be routinely employed. Here we summarize current approaches and ongoing innovations for the preparation of frozen-hydrated single particle specimens for cryo-EM, highlighting some of the commonly encountered problems and approaches that may help overcome these.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lou Brillault
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia
| | - Michael J Landsberg
- School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.
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Park J, Shirai M, Jung GY, Park SO, Park M, Ryu J, Kwak SK, Cho J. Correlation of Low-Index Facets to Active Sites in Micrometer-Sized Polyhedral Pyrochlore Electrocatalyst. ACS Catal 2018. [DOI: 10.1021/acscatal.8b01725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Manabu Shirai
- Electron Microscope Application Group, Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation, 882 Ichige, Hitachinaka, Ibaraki 312-8504, Japan
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Relations between Structure, Activity and Stability in C3N4 Based Photocatalysts Used for Solar Hydrogen Production. Catalysts 2018. [DOI: 10.3390/catal8020052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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