Graphene as a protein crystal mounting material to reduce background scatter

Wierman, Jennifer L.; Alden, Jonathan S.; Kim, Chae Un; McEuen, Paul L.; Grüner, Sol M.

doi:10.1107/s002188981301786x

Cited by 49 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(38 reference statements)

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“…The results that we have presented support the claim that this method (Wierman et al, 2013) of wrapping crystals in graphene or graphene/PMMA can protect crystals in an evacuated environment.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…S4). Crystals were mounted in graphene/PMMA following the previously reported protocol (Wierman et al, 2013). Fig.…”

Section: Mounting Of Crystals In Graphenementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of graphene as a crystal-mounting platform for protein crystals has recently been reported (Wierman et al, 2013). Graphene has been shown to have many distinct properties, including a complete impermeability to gases (Bunch et al, 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The mounting procedure reduced mother liquor around the crystal as well as being only a few nanometres thick to help reduce background scatter. It was also possible to prevent crystal dehydration for up to 10 min at room temperature in air before cryocooling for data collection (Wierman et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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In vacuoX-ray data collection from graphene-wrapped protein crystals

Warren¹,

Crawshaw²,

Trincão³

et al. 2015

Acta Cryst Sect A

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The measurement of diffraction data from macromolecular crystal samples held in vacuo holds the promise of a very low X-ray background and zero absorption of incident and scattered beams, leading to better data and the potential for accessing very long X-ray wavelengths (>3 Å ) for native sulfur phasing. Maintaining the hydration of protein crystals under vacuum is achieved by the use of liquid jets, as with serial data collection at free-electron lasers, or is sidestepped by cryocooling the samples, as implemented at new synchrotron beamlines. Graphene has been shown to protect crystals from dehydration by creating an extremely thin layer that is impermeable to any exchanges with the environment. Furthermore, owing to its hydrophobicity, most of the aqueous solution surrounding the crystal is excluded during sample preparation, thus eliminating most of the background caused by liquid. Here, it is shown that high-quality data can be recorded at room temperature from graphene-wrapped protein crystals in a rough vacuum. Furthermore, it was observed that graphene protects crystals exposed to different relative humidities and a chemically harsh environment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 75%

“…S4). Crystals were mounted in graphene/PMMA following the previously reported protocol (Wierman et al, 2013). Fig.…”

Section: Mounting Of Crystals In Graphenementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

In vacuoX-ray data collection from graphene-wrapped protein crystals

Warren¹,

Crawshaw²,

Trincão³

et al. 2015

Acta Cryst Sect A

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show abstract

“…123 This proof-of-concept work, inspired by earlier reports on the stability of graphene-wrapped crystals, 145,146 utilized windows of single-layer graphene backed by a 500 nm-thick layer of PMMA for structural stability, surrounding a microfluidic channel cut into 100 lm-thick COC. The resulting microfluidic chambers were shown to be stable against dehydration for at least two weeks and were robust enough to survive overnight shipping to the synchrotron.…”

Section: B Device Materials For Microcrystallographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Microfluidics: From crystallization to serial time-resolved crystallography

Sui

Perry

2017

Structural Dynamics

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Capturing protein structural dynamics in real-time has tremendous potential in elucidating biological functions and providing information for structure-based drug design. While time-resolved structure determination has long been considered inaccessible for a vast majority of protein targets, serial methods for crystallography have remarkable potential in facilitating such analyses. Here, we review the impact of microfluidic technologies on protein crystal growth and X-ray diffraction analysis. In particular, we focus on applications of microfluidics for use in serial crystallography experiments for the time-resolved determination of protein structural dynamics.

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Monolayer Graphene Coating of Intracortical Probes for Long‐Lasting Neural Activity Monitoring

Bourrier

Shkorbatova

Bonizzato

et al. 2019

Adv Healthcare Materials

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The invasiveness of intracortical interfaces currently used today is responsible for the formation of an intense immunoresponse and inflammatory reaction from neural cells and tissues. This leads to a high concentration of reactive glial cells around the implant site, creating a physical barrier between the neurons and the recording channels. Such a rejection of foreign analog interfaces causes neural signals to fade from recordings which become flooded by background noise after a few weeks. Despite their invasiveness, those devices are required to track single neuron activity and decode fine sensory or motor commands. In particular, such quantitative and long‐lasting recordings of individual neurons are crucial during a long time period (several months) to restore essential functions of the cortex, disrupted after injuries, stroke, or neurodegenerative diseases. To overcome this limitation, graphene and related materials have attracted numerous interests, as they gather in the same material many suitable properties for interfacing living matter, such as an exceptionally high neural affinity, diffusion barrier, and high physical robustness. In this work, the neural affinity of a graphene monolayer with numerous materials commonly used in neuroprostheses is compared, and its impact on the performance and durability of intracortical probes is investigated. For that purpose, an innovative coating method to wrap 3D intracortical probes with a continuous monolayer graphene is developed. Experimental evidence demonstrate the positive impact of graphene on the bioacceptance of conventional intracortical probes, in terms of detection efficiency and tissues responses, allowing real‐time samplings of motor neuron activity during 5 weeks. Since continuous graphene coatings can easily be implemented on a wide range of 3D surfaces, this study further motivates the use of graphene and related materials as it could significantly contribute to reduce the current rejection of neural probes currently used in many research areas, from fundamental neurosciences to medicine and neuroprostheses.

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Graphene as a protein crystal mounting material to reduce background scatter

Cited by 49 publications

References 33 publications

In vacuoX-ray data collection from graphene-wrapped protein crystals

In vacuoX-ray data collection from graphene-wrapped protein crystals

Microfluidics: From crystallization to serial time-resolved crystallography

Monolayer Graphene Coating of Intracortical Probes for Long‐Lasting Neural Activity Monitoring

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