Using graphene, a group of researchers has come up with the first photographic images of individual proteins, which might eventually help in understanding how certain proteins malform, causing a wide range of diseases.
To take pictures of individual proteins (among them the red blood cell protein hemoglobin, the cow protein bovine serum albumin and cytochrome c, which allows electrons to carry proteins to various places within the human body), the scientists first coated (or "electrosprayed") them with a solution on a thin sheet of graphene.
Using a low-energy holography electron microscope, the researchers then captured an image with the help of electrons; when electrons rebound from the sheet and co-mingle with other electrons, the microscope records the interaction, and in turn, an image is formed in a process that does no damage to the individual proteins being photographed due to the low amounts of energy used in the method.
