Meet the Team: Who’s Who in Shuimu’s CryoEM Department

At the forefront of structural biology innovation stands Shuimu BioSciences, a pioneering commercial platform in Asia renowned for its cutting-edge cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) services. Founded in 2017 at Tsinghua University, Shuimu BioSciences has rapidly established itself as a leader in providing high-resolution 3D structures of biological macromolecules. The backbone of this success lies in its exceptional team of world-class experts, and this article offers a glimpse into "Who’s Who" in Shuimu’s dedicated CryoEM Services department.

Shuimu BioSciences’ EM Centre brings together some of the industry’s most experienced EM scientists. This elite scientist team is composed of PhD-level experts from preeminent institutions, specializing in structural biology, protein science, and computational biology. Their collective expertise leverages the deep research and technical heritage in structural biology at Tsinghua University, ensuring efficient and advanced workflows for both experimental procedures and data analysis. A dedicated team of EM engineers oversees the daily operations and maintenance of the cryo-EM facilities, guaranteeing that every frame is collected under optimal performance.

Our global customer support centre plays a crucial role by conducting regular follow-ups, collecting feedback, and understanding technical requirements to continuously evaluate project delivery capabilities and service attitude. This client-centric approach, combined with the scientific prowess of our team, makes Shuimu BioSciences the ideal partner for all your CryoEM Services needs. For a deeper understanding of our team’s expertise and how we can assist your research, please visit shuimubio website. For specific project inquiries and to discuss your requirements, do not hesitate to contact our marketing team.

Shuimu BioSciences offers a comprehensive suite of CryoEM Services, designed to provide “One-Stop” solutions for everything from gene sequences to high-resolution 3D structures. Our services are broadly categorized to meet diverse research needs:

•One-Stop SPA Solutions: Single Particle Analysis (SPA) is a powerful approach integrating cryo-EM to unveil high-resolution 3D structures of biological macromolecules such as proteins, viruses, antigen-antibody complexes, small molecules & targets, PROTACs, membrane proteins (GPCRs, ion channels, transporters), VLPs, and peptides. Our experienced team guides you through the entire SPA workflow, from project consultation and feasibility evaluation to strategy definition, protein expression and purification, negative staining, sample freezing and data collection, 2D particle picking, 3D reconstruction, model refinement, and finally, data delivery. Shuimu’s SPA solutions are designed to preserve samples close to their native state, capture diverse conformations, require minimal sample volume, and determine heterologous protein complexes. We excel at overcoming challenges posed by small protein molecular weight, low concentration, high background noise, air-water interface disruption, and preferential orientation through our GraFuture, GO & RGO grids. Our success is reflected in over 300 single particle projects completed. To explore the possibilities with our SPA solutions, please visit shuimubio website or contact our marketing team.

•Instrument Access (24 hours): Recognizing the critical need for timely data acquisition, Shuimu BioSciences provides 24-hour, round-the-clock access to our state-of-the-art 300 kV cryo-EM platforms located in Beijing (2 machines) and Hangzhou (6 machines), including G3i, G4, and Totem instruments. Our Cryo-EM Center is equipped with high-performance detectors, energy filters, spherical aberration, and phase plates, ensuring the highest imaging quality. Our professional technicians ensure the smooth operation of these advanced instruments and provide real-time support during data collection. We emphasize daily maintenance to guarantee the efficiency and quality of data collection, with each electron microscope maintaining over 330 days of available machine time annually and a fault-free operation rate greater than 97%. Researchers can benefit from our AI-driven platform, including the independently developed SMART software, which streamlines cryo-EM data analysis by reducing machine runtime and required data volume. To reserve instrument time and learn more about our facilities, please visit shuimubio website and get in touch with our marketing representatives.

•GraFuture™ Support Grids: To address the limitations of traditional support grids, such as gas-liquid interface absorption, severe preferred orientation, high sample concentration thresholds, significant background noise, and difficulty in reconstructing small macromolecular structures, Shuimu has developed the GraFuture™ series of graphene support grids, including GraFuture™ GO (graphene oxide) and GraFuture™ RGO (reduced graphene oxide). These grids offer a potential solution to the preferred orientation problem and are particularly suitable for applications involving small protein molecular weight, low concentration, strong background noise, and gas-liquid interface damage. Our scientists can advise you on the optimal grid choice for your specific sample. Discover how GraFuture™ can enhance your cryo-EM experiments at shuimubio website or by contacting our marketing specialists.

•Cryo Characterization: Utilizing ultra-low temperature technology, our cryo-characterization services maintain the natural state of samples for high-resolution structural observation and analysis of entities like AAV, liposomes, LNPs, and VLPs. Our self-developed AI cryo-EM system, NanoSMART, automatically identifies nanoparticle features from electron microscope images, providing detailed reports on size distribution, roundness, and layered full/empty integrity with one-click operation. NanoSMART also enhances the clarity of low-quality images to optimize recognition results. Shuimu has a strong focus on the characterization of LNP, liposomes, AAV, and other viral vectors, ensuring efficient and precise results tailored to customer needs. Learn more about our cryo-characterization capabilities at shuimubio website or by reaching out to our marketing team.

•Negative Staining & 2D Negative Staining: This widely used technique in structural biology allows for the rapid acquisition of low-resolution two-dimensional projection images of macromolecular complexes, serving as a crucial basis for further cryo-EM research. Our negative staining electron microscopy (TalosL120C) can provide initial insights into sample particle size, uniformity, oligomeric state, morphology, particle density/sample concentration, protein structure, flexibility, sample integrity, conformation, and compositional heterogeneity at a lower cost. This service is also valuable for homogeneity assessments of protein particles such as AAV, exosomes, membrane proteins, viruses, and soluble proteins. We also offer observations of plant and animal tissue sections, for example, cardiac tissue. To understand how negative staining can benefit your initial sample assessment, visit shuimubio website or contact our marketing team for more details.

•MicroED Solutions: Micro-electron diffraction (MicroED) is a cutting-edge technology enabling the precise resolution of high-resolution structures from microcrystals and nanocrystals, particularly suitable for organic compounds, small molecule drugs, peptides, and protein crystals. Shuimu BioSciences provides accurate structural insights using MicroED technology, supported by our proprietary eTasED software, which seamlessly integrates MicroED into conventional cryo-EM systems without additional modifications. Our experienced team offers free evaluation services, covering feasibility analysis and risk warnings. We have successfully delivered over 80% of MicroED projects, achieving resolutions of 0.6~1.0Å. Explore the power of MicroED for your small molecule and peptide structural determination needs at shuimubio website or by contacting our marketing team.

Shuimu BioSciences stands committed to an uncompromising pursuit of resolution, having resolved over 300 proteins with exceptional <3.5Å resolution and even achieving a groundbreaking resolution of 1.4Å. Our platform has supported numerous research results published in top international journals, covering ion channels, GPCRs, antigen-antibody complexes, spliceosomes, and other biological samples.

To further explore our comprehensive CryoEM Services, including detailed sample submission requirements, case sharing examples, and how our expert team can contribute to your research success, we strongly encourage you to visit our shuimubio website. For personalized consultations and to discuss your specific project requirements, please do not hesitate to reach out to our dedicated marketing team. We look forward to partnering with you to advance your structural biology endeavors.