Currently reading: C-flat™ Holey Carbon Films & Grids for Cryo-TEM by ProSciTech Pty Ltd

C-flat™ Holey Carbon Films & Grids for Cryo-TEM

C-flat™ is the premier holey carbon grid for cryo-transmission electron microscopy.

Overview

C-flat™ is an ultra-flat, holey carbon-coated TEM support grid for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Unlike competing holey carbon films, C-flat™ is manufactured without plastics, so it is clean upon arrival and the user has no residue to contend with.

The C-flat™ Advantage

C-flat™ leads to better data sets.

Made with patent pending technology, C-flat™ provides an ultra-flat surface that results in better particle dispersion and more uniform ice thickness. Patterning is done using deep-UV projection lithography, ensuring the most accurate and consistent hole shapes and sizes down to submicron features. The precise methods by which C-flat™ is manufactured eliminate artefacts such as excess carbon and edges around holes.

C-flat™ is affordable

C-flat™ is available in 25, 50, and 100 packs at a per-grid price less than competing products.

Applications

C-flat™ holey carbon grids provide the ideal specimen support to achieve high resolution data in cryo-TEM making them an ideal choice for single particle analysis, cryo electron tomography and automated TEM analysis.

Cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) and Single Particle Analysis ( SPA ):

Numerous researchers have reported that the ultra-flat surface of C-flat™ leads to even ice thickness and uniform particle distribution within the hole areas. This optimal particle distribution results in superior data being collected as compared with other holey support films. 2µm hole sizes are standard but custom hole sizes are available so C-flat™ can accommodate the common magnifications used for quantitative TEM analysis.

Automated TEM:

C-flat™ provides a regular array of analysis sites compatible with automated data collection software such as Leginon. This compatibility, in combination with the more uniform ice thickness and particle distribution reported by numerous researchers, results in more high-quality target sites per grid.

Publications using C-flat™:

Does contamination buildup limit through put for automated cryoEM? , Journal of Structural Biology, Volume 154, Issue 3, June 2006, Pages 303-311 Anchi Cheng, Denis Fellmann, James Pulokas, Clinton S. Potter and Bridget Carragher

Automated cryoEM data acquisition and analysis of 284 742 particles of GroEL , Journal of Structural Biology, In Press, Uncorrected Proof, Available online 22 May 2006, Scott M. Stagg, Gabriel C. Lander, James Pulokas, Denis Fellmann, Anchi Cheng, Joel D. Quispe, Satya P. Mallick, Radomir M. Avila, Bridget Carragher and Clinton S. Potter

Product Line

C-flat™ is a holey carbon film supported by a standard TEM grid. C-flat™ products are fully specified by 4 parameters: the hole diameter and pitch of the holey carbon film and the material type and mesh size of the TEM grid. The following image illustrates these parameters:

Holey Carbon GridsFrozen-hydrated Bacteriophage Capsid (data acquired on CF-1.2/1.3-4c)Cryo-electron tomography (cryoET) and Single Particle Analysis ( SPA ): 250,000 particles of GroEL in 24 hours Image Courtesy of Scott Stagg and Mike Pique NRAMM, The Scripts Research Institute (data acquired on CF-2/2-4C)Holey Carbon Grids

Standard Products

The breadth of applications in cryoTEM necessitate a wide range of holey carbon film patterns. And now, with the recent expansion of the product line, a C-flat™ holey carbon film is available for almost any application. Whether 600nm holes are needed for very high magnifications with ultra-high resolution cameras or large open areas are needed for larger specimens, C-flat™ is the perfect holey carbon grid.

C-flat™ is immediately available in several standard array patterns including hole diameters/hole spacings of 0.6/2, 1/1, 1/2, 1/4, 1.2/1.3, 2/1, 2/2, 2/4, 4/2, and a multihole pattern. C-flat™ is supported by your choice of a 200 mesh or 400 mesh copper TEM grid and sold in quantities of 25, 50, or 100.

Product1500x (45°)3000x10,000x20,000x
CF-MH-2C
CF-MH-4C

multi hole and space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid
CF-1/1-2C
CF-1/1-4C

1.0μm hole, 1.0 μm space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid
CF-1.2/1.3-2C
CF-1.2/1.3-4C

1.2μm hole, 1.3 μm space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid
CF-2/0.5-2C
CF-2/0.5-4C

2.0μm hole, 0.5μm space
CF-2/1-2C
CF-2/1-4C

2.0μm hole, 1.0μm space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid
CF-2/2-2C
CF-2/2-4C

2.0μm hole, 2.0μm space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid
CF-2/4-2C
CF-2/4-4C

2.0μm hole, 4.0μm space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid
CF-4/1-2C
CF-4/1-4C

4.0μm hole, 1.0μm space
CF-4/2-2C
CF-4/2-4C

4.0μm hole, 2.0μm space
holey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon gridholey carbon grid

C-flat™ mounted on a stub using carbon tape and imaged with a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope

Ordering Information: C-flat™ Holey Carbon Grids for TEM

Product CodeCat. #Hole SizeHole SpacingTEM meshTEM GridPack SizePrice
CF-1.2/1.3-2CCF2131.2 µm1.3 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-1.2/1.3-4CCF4131.2 µm1.3 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/0.5-2CCF2052.0 µm0.5 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/0.5-4CCF4052.0 µm0.5 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/1-2CCF2122.0 µm1.0 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/1-4CCF4122.0 µm1.0 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/2-2CCF-222C2.0 µm2.0 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/2-4CCF-224C2.0 µm2.0 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/4-2CCF2422.0 µm4.0 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-2/4-4CCF4422.0 µm4.0 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-4/1-2CCF2414.0 µm1.0 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-4/1-4CCF4414.0 µm1.0 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-4/2-2CCF4224.0 µm2.0 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-4/2-4CCF4244.0 µm2.0 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-MH-2CCF2MHMultihole*200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-MH-4CCF4MHMultihole*400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-1/1-2CCF211.0 µm1.0 µm200Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask
CF-1/1-4CCF411.0 µm1.0 µm400Cu25/pk. - 100/pk.Ask

* The Multihole device has a staggered pattern of six features consisting of three circle patterns of 1 micron, 1.4 micron and 2 micron diameter and three ellipse patterns of 1x4 microns, 1.4x5.6 microns and 2x8 microns.

C-flat™ Customisation

We realise that each customer has unique needs since specimens vary greatly in composition and size. To meet the diverse and demanding needs of the cryoTEM community, C-flat™ can be customised to meet a user's specific requirements. For example, C-flat™ can be manufactured on other grid types such as Gold grids, 100x400 mesh grids, or London Finder grids. The size, shape and spacing of the holes perforating the carbon film can also be customised. For examples, those using electron tomography techniques might desire a larger hole size to allow for increased tilt angles; those using very high magnifications might find a smaller hole size desirable; 2D crystallographers might prefer a sparse hole pattern to take advantage of the clean and ultra flat surface of C-flat™; and based upon the specimen preparation and imaging protocols, grid metals other than copper might be required.

C-flat™ can be customised to meet all of these needs.

Please contact us with any custom C-flat™ requests. We will be glad to provide you with a quote for specialised C-flat™ grids. Requests for customised parts can be made by inquiry.

C-flat™ is a trademark of Protochips, Inc. All rights reserved

For more information, see ProSciTech's C-flat™ holey carbon grids

QUANTIFOIL Holey Carbon Film is an alternative to the C-Flat™ grids

Was this article helpful?
Yes
No
comments powered by Disqus