Low-dose aberration corrected cryo-electron microscopy of organic specimens

Spherical aberration (Cs) correction in the transmission electron microscope has enabled sub-angstrom resolution imaging of inorganic materials. To achieve similar resolution for radiation-sensitive organic materials requires the microscope to be operated under hybrid conditions: low electron dose illumination of the specimen at liquid nitrogen temperature and low defocus values. Initial images from standard inorganic and organic test specimens have indicated that under these conditions Cs-correction can provide a significant improvement in resolution (to less than 0.16 nm) for direct imaging of organic samples.