Pharmaceuticals | Biomolecular Imaging | Diagnostics & Treatment of Disease
Smart Grids are expected to play a signficant role in furthering the application of TEM within the life sciences due to the ability to customize the interactions of biological specimen with the TEM sample grid. Specific applications that can benefit from the use of Smart Grids include rapid and routine analyses such as in the quality control of pharmaceuticals, advanced methods for macromolecular imaging through chemically linking these molecules to the grid surface, and even in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. Smart Grids show excellent contrast even for low atomic mass materials such as the 40 nm latex spheres shown below.
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Comparison of TEM images of NIST standard 40 nm latex spheres on Dune Sciences Smart Grid (left) vs a 3 nm lacey carbon grid (right). Smart Grids show reduced background compared to the carbon materials that are 1/10th the membrane thickness.
Transmission electron microscopy has been used extensively in biological sciences for more than 30 years to reveal subcellular and macromolecular structure in biological tissues. Recent advances in instrumentation, fixation, contrast enhancement, sample preparation, and image processing have allowed for a truly remarkable understanding of cellular structures and the relationships of individual entities within the cells. For example, advances in cryo preparation of biological tissue specimen has helped to preserve the 3-D structure of samples. Electron tomography now allows for three-dimensional analysis of the organization and architecture of cells which has helped to reveal protein function at the cellular level. New capabilities for attaching antibodies to staining agents have allowed for more targeted labeling of individual cellular constituents. Armed with these tools and the knowledge gained from their application, there are numerous opportunities to expand the use of electron microscopy as both a research and an industrial tool for life sciences and gain new insights into the world of proteomics.
For more information on the use of Smart Grids in the Life Sciences for your custom application, please contact Dune Sciences.