On Friday, November 8, 2024, the “Titan Krios G4”, a state-of-the-art cryo-electron microscope dedicated to biology, was inaugurated by representatives of the organizations that contributed to its funding and installation. Acquired as part of the “Equipex+ France Cryo-EM” national initiative under the Future Investment Program 3 (PIA3), this major piece of equipment is installed at ESRF. It is part of a network of three microscopes in France, distributed between the Institut de Génétique, Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire in Strasbourg, the Synchrotron Soleil in Saint-Aubin and the Institut de Biologie Structurale in Grenoble (IBS – CNRS / UGA / CEA).
Thanks to its exceptional performance, this new microscope, installed in the Grenoble area, will play a key role in the development of collaborative research in structural biology, particularly for drug design and biomedical research.
It will also contribute to a better understanding of biomolecule dynamics and, thanks to its location at ESRF, will complement other structural biology techniques, covering analyses from the atomic to the cellular scale.
In addition to boosting national skills in this strategic field, this equipment, along with its two “twins”, should reposition France at the forefront of world research in structural biology, while attracting collaborations with internationally renowned research centers.
“Cryo-electron microscopy has transformed the way researchers approach neurodegenerative diseases, pathogens and cancers, providing them with unprecedented insight into protein structures and a better understanding of disease development,” says Mike Shafer, President of Biopharma Services at Thermo Fisher Scientific, which developed the Titan Krios G4.