Ballistic Microscopy (BaM) data repository

Light and electron microscopy utilizes interactions of either photons or
electrons with matter to create images from cellular to atomic scale.
However, these methods are limited in de novo discovery and spatial
mapping of unknown biomolecules. Label-free methods, such as mass
spectrometry or sequencing, lack live-cell and subcellular context. Here,
we introduce a new approach, Ballistic Microscopy (BaM), to image cells
with physical nanoparticles. We bombard living cells with millions of
nanoparticles traveling at ∼1000 m/s. Each particle passes through cells,
piercing and capturing attoliters of cytoplasm on a hydrogel substrate
while preserving spatial information (SPLAT-MAP). This “physical image” of
a live cell captures a molecular fingerprint of a cell on a hydrogel film
that can be processed post-capture via multiple techniques such as TEM,
Cryo-EM, mass spectrometry, confocal imaging, and DNA amplification. Using
BaM, we discover a previously unknown composition of CLIP170 and Tau3R
condensates in HEK cells, uncovering Keratin-18 as a structural element.
BaM establishes a new paradigm of “physical imaging” with a modular
readout platform for spatially resolved live sampling across cells,
tissues, and organisms.