Successfully visualized hydrogen atoms and chemical information by cryo-EM

Release Date: 2023/06/21

We are pleased to announce that the research results using our cryo-electron microscope (CRYO ARM^TM 300) have been published in “Communications Chemistry”.

The research team led by Saori Maki, Keisuke Kawakami at RIKEN, and Professor Koji Yonekura at RIKEN and Tohoku University has succeeded in visualizing most of the hydrogen atoms in proteins and obtaining information related to the charge and chemical bonding from single particle analysis using JEOL’s cryo electron microscope.

The results of this research demonstrate that detailed structural characteristics that determine the function of proteins in an aqueous solution, which is close to the physiological environment, can be observed.

This achievement is expected to help deepen our understanding of the chemical properties and functions of proteins and contribute to life science, medicine, and drug discovery.

The results of this research were published in the online scientific journal “Communications Chemistry”.

Measurement of charges and chemical bonding in a cryo-EM structure

Link

RIKEN
Visualization of Charges, Hydrogen Atoms, and Chemical Bonds by Cryo-Electron Microscopy - Contribution to Drug Discovery by Understanding Detailed Chemical Properties of Proteins (Japanese)

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CRYO ARM^TM 300 (JEM-Z300FSC) Field Emission Cryo-Electron Microscope