The objective of our application is to develop hardware and procedures that will allow researchers to practically utilize phase plates in the back focal plane of the objective lens in a Transmission Electron Microscope. Use of precisely positioned phase plates can increase resolution in electron tomography, and also increase throughput when using the single-particle approach.
Our specific aim i s to provide a phase plate system that will include a modified objective aperture holder that incorporates (1) a piezo positioning system, (2) a heater to avoid contamination, and (3) an electrical feed-through for use with electrostatic phase plates. Simply exchanging the original objective aperture holder with the Hummingbird phase plate holder will allow nearly any cryo-EM to be equipped with a phase plate. The cost of this holder will be substantially lower than any other technology that can yield a similar improvement in imaging of frozen-hydrated specimens. In close collaboration with the Resource for the Visualization of Biological Complexity (RVBC) at the Wadsworth Center's NIH Biotechnological Resource, we will develop a new phase plate holder, demonstrate its use, and publish the results. It is our intent to develop and commercialize a cost effective system that will enable these techniques to become widely available to the biology research community. This proposal will develop tools that allow biologists to get a clearer picture of the structure and function of the cell. This knowledge is fundamental to innumerable areas of medical research and practice.
This proposal will develop tools that allow biologists to get a clearer picture of the structure and function of the cell. This knowledge is fundamental to innumerable areas of medical research and practice.
| Kuraishy, Ali I; French, Samuel W; Sherman, Mara et al. (2007) TORC2 regulates germinal center repression of the TCL1 oncoprotein to promote B cell development and inhibit transformation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 104:10175-80 |
