Year: 2005
Type: article
Abstract: A quantum advance in the resolution of 3-D reconstructions of free-standing macromolecules ("single particles") to the sub-1 nm level was achieved in 1997, through exploitation of microscopes with field-emission gun illumination systems and effective computational methods for correcting for the effects of the phase contrast transfer function (CTF) and for optimizing the determination of alignment and orientation parameters [1,2].Since then, reconstructions in the resolution range of ~ 0.7 nm to ~ 1.2 nm have appeared with increasing frequency, not only for icosahedral virus capsids but also for complexes with lower symmetry.The achievement of resolutions below 0.5 nm with helical filaments [3] and tubular crystals [4] suggests that comparable results should be possible for at least some "single particles".Such progress is likely to depend on further improvement of both the primary data (micrographs) and the methods of image analysis.
Source: Microscopy and Microanalysis
Authors: N Cheng, J F Conway, D C Winkler, R L Duda, A C Steven
Language: English
Subfield: Structural Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2037523926