title: Phase-plate electron microscopy: a novel imaging tool to reveal close-to-life nano-structures.
abstract: After slow progress in the efforts to develop phase plates for electron microscopes, functional phase plate using thin carbon film has been reported recently. It permits collecting high-contrast images of close-to-life biological structures with cryo-fixation and without staining. This report reviews the state of the art for phase plates and what is innovated with them in biological electron microscopy. The extension of thin-film phase plates to the material-less type using electrostatic field or magnetic field is also addressed. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12551-008-0006-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Science, SOKENDAI, Okazaki Institute for integrative Bioscience, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, 5-1 Higashiyama, Myodaiji cho, Okazaki, 444-8787 Japan.
authors.forename: Kuniaki
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagayama
authors.forename: Radostin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Danev