C-flat Holey Carbon Sample Support Grids for cryo-TEM
C-flat is the premier holey carbon film for cryo-transmission electron microscopy and is manufactured without plastics, resulting in higher quality data.
Cryo Grids for Sample Support
C-flat holey carbon coated grids produce better data sets.
Constructed with patented technology, C-flat provides an ultra-flat surface for better particle dispersion and more uniform ice thickness. An ultra-flat grid leads to higher quality data and ultimately higher resolution.
Frozen-hydrated Bacteriophage Capsid
(data acquired on CF-1.2/1.4-4C)
C-flat is ready to use “right out of the box”.
There is very little sample preparation with C-flat as the grids are clean and ready to use upon arrival. The quick preparation of samples and low risk of contamination yields superior results, in less time. C-flat is compatible with Fischione’s Model 1020™, plasma cleaner able to simultaneously clean the electron microscope specimens and specimen holders.The Solarus™ by Gatan can be used to remove hydrocarbon contamination of the samples.
Holey Carbon Supports, Mesh and TEM Grids
C-flat is a holey carbon film supported by a standard copper TEM grid. C-flat products are completely specified by 4 parameters: the hole diameter, pitch of the holey carbon film, the material type, and mesh size of the TEM grid. The regular thickness of the carbon film is approximately 20 nm with a thick carbon option of approximately 40 nm. The following image illustrates these parameters:
Standard Products
The breadth of applications in cryoTEM necessitates a wide range of holey carbon film patterns. With the recent expansion of the product line, a C-flat holey carbon film is available for almost any application. Whether 1 µm 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 spacing of 1/1, 1.2/1.3, 2/0.5, 2/1, 2/2, 2/4, 4/1, 4/2, and a multihole pattern. C-flat is supported by either a 200 mesh or 400 mesh copper TEM grid and sold in quantities of 50, or 100.
Applications
C-flat holey carbon grids provide the ideal specimen support to achieve high resolution data in cryoTEM making C-flat the perfect 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. This optimal particle distribution results in superior data collection as compared with other holey support films. 2 µm hole sizes are standard but custom hole sizes are available to accommodate the different magnifications necessary 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 results in more high-quality target sites per grid. C-flat is compatible with FEI’s Vitrobot™, which automates the vitrification process and provides a fast and easy sample preparation.