QUANTIFOIL Holey Carbon Supports for Cryo-EM

QUANTIFOIL^® Holey Carbon Supports for Cryo-EM

QUANTIFOIL^® Holey Carbon supports are a flat film of carbon, 10-12 nm thick, on a cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) grid. They provide a low-background sample support ideal for high-resolution cryo-EM data collection. The optimum grid for your project can be selected from a wide variety of hole shapes, sizes and spacings in combination with a range of base grid materials and mesh sizes. Grid options include standard square meshes as well as other arrangements and finder grid formats.

Circular

Ideal for high-resolution studies of biological macromolecules and other materials, round holes optimize the formation of a thin, even layer of ice to support a sample of interest.

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Square

Often used for applications where larger carbon-free areas are desired, square grids have less carbon support. They can be used with an additional thin carbon layer where samples need continuous support.

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Multi

With a repeating pattern of hole size, shape and spacing, Multi foils are useful for particles of unpredictable size (e.g. liposomes, while the oval shape can aid in tomographic data collection.

Explore multi holes

QUANTIFOIL^® holey carbon support films were first described in Ermantraut et al, Ultramicroscopy 74: 75-81 (1998). Some residuals from the production process can remain on the surface of the film on the grid, increasing the thickness to around 20 nm. To maximize the quality and reproducibility of samples when using QUANTIFOIL^® grids, we recommend some simple preparatory steps.