Accelerating cryo-EM structure determination of membrane transport mass photometry
Presenter: Dr. Howard Young,Β Professor of Biochemistry, University of AlbertaΒ
Sample heterogeneity and complex instability can undermine membrane protein cryo-EM projects before data collection even begins. In this on-demand webinar, Dr. Howard Young, Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Alberta and Leader of the Alberta Cryo-EM Facility, shares how mass photometry (MP) helps his team identify promising samples earlier in the workflow, reducing risk and accelerating structural biology discoveries.Β
Drawing on real-world research with challenging membrane transport proteins, Dr. Young demonstrates how mass photometry has become an essential screening tool for cryo-EM sample preparation and structure determination.Β
βWe got hooked on MP when we saw how reliable the micelles peak was as a diagnostic. We screened our magnesium transporter (MgtA) samples and sent all the ones with favorable detergent profiles for cryo-EM. We had a 3.8 Γ initial structure within one week, so it was a fantastic workflow.βΒ
After seeing the impact on theirΒ MgtAΒ project, Dr. Young’s team adopted mass photometry as a routine step in their membrane protein workflow.
What you’ll learn?
How mass photometry improves cryo-EM sample preparation
Discover how MP can be used to assess:Β
- SampleΒ monodispersityΒ
- Molecular massΒ
- Complex formationΒ
- Free detergent micelle concentrationsΒ
before committing valuable samples to grid preparation and data collection.