Development of a pulsed laser phase plate for cryo-ET

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) can determine the structures of purified proteins to atomic resolution and visualize cells with subnanometer resolution. Cryo-EM images of weakly scattering objects, such as protein complexes or cells, are acquired at high defocus which increases the phase contrast of the specimen but limits the resolution of the resulting three-dimensional reconstruction. The Fitzpatrick lab is developing a pulsed ponderomotive phase plate that will allow in-focus phase contrast of cryo-EM specimens, boosting contrast in cellular cryo-electron tomograms with the potential to revolutionize our understanding of biology.