Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41535250›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

Optical interference for the guidance of cryogenic focused ion beam milling beyond the axial diffraction limit.

Anthony V Sica, Magda Zaoralová, Cali Antolini, Daan B Boltje, Judit J Penzes, Lilyana M Malmqvist, Grant J Jensen, Jason T Kaelber, Peter D Dahlberg

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Anthony V SicaDivision of CryoEM and Bioimaging, SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA.
Magda ZaoralováDivision of CryoEM and Bioimaging, SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA.
Cali AntoliniDivision of CryoEM and Bioimaging, SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA.
Daan B BoltjeDelmic, Oostsingel 209, Delft, The Netherlands.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4881-4700
Judit J PenzesInstitute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
Lilyana M MalmqvistInstitute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.
Grant J JensenDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1556-4864
Jason T KaelberInstitute for Quantitative Biomedicine, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9426-1030
Peter D DahlbergDivision of CryoEM and Bioimaging, SSRL, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Menlo Park, California, USA. pdahlb@stanford.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4452-2663

Funding

Structure and Function of Pathogenesis-Associated Bacterial Structures by Electron CryotomographyR01AI127401 · NIAID · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI GRANT J JENSEN · 2016 to 2026
$3.9M
Improving cryoEM and cryoFIB performance through amelioration of mechanical stress in vitreous ice.R21GM140345 · NIGMS · RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIV OF N.J. · PI KAELBER, JASON T · 2021 to 2022
$432k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI127401NIGMS NIH HHS R21 GM140345Silicon Valley Community Foundation (SVCF) 2021-234593U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) RO1AI127401U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) R21GM140345
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cryogenic focused ion beam (Cryo-FIB) milling has become a standard step in the cryogenic electron tomography (Cryo-ET) workflow and is required to thin cells to electron-semitransparency. However, this destructive process removes the vast majority of the cellular material and raises a critical question: what thin section should be preserved for Cryo-ET analysis? Using a tri-coincident cryogenic FIB-SEM-LM system, we identify an interferometric optical response that can be used for targeting lamella production to fluorescently labeled structures with accuracy beyond the diffraction limit. Here we demonstrate this approach using synthetic samples of fluorescent beads embedded in micron-scale droplets of amorphous ice. We then apply the approach to capture virions inside host cells. Successful targeting is confirmed by Cryo-ET revealing clusters of virions in intracellular vesicles. The method does not require any fluorescent fiducials or axial registration and can be performed on any fluorescently labeled structure that is visible in widefield fluorescence microscopy.

Identifiers

PMID41535250
PMCPMC12804907

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.