Biohub Builds 2nd LPP Cryo-EM Microscope as Müller Publishes Dual Phase Plate Theory
Updated
Updated · Chemical & Engineering News · Jun 11
Biohub Builds 2nd LPP Cryo-EM Microscope as Müller Publishes Dual Phase Plate Theory
3 articles · Updated · Chemical & Engineering News · Jun 11
Summary
Biohub researchers reported a second laser phase plate-enabled cryo-EM microscope, adding an independent proof of concept and producing an initial image of a bacterial cell slice.
Two crossed laser beams in the new dual phase plate cut the required light intensity by half, easing the mirror-precision demands that made the original design so difficult to build.
Science and Nature Communications papers now pair hardware and theory: Biohub says the new instrument works, while Holger Müller’s team published the theoretical basis for the dual phase plate.
A 12 W laser amplified in an optical resonator underpins the broader approach, which boosts contrast in cryo-EM images where biological samples are otherwise nearly transparent to electrons.
Researchers say better primary data could extend cryo-EM to smaller proteins and eventually enable structural cell biology at scale, though cost and further optimization remain major hurdles.