New gold-based tagging method revolutionizes 3D cell visualization

A groundbreaking international collaboration between researchers the United States and the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, led by Senior Scientist Eric Gouaux, has introduced a novel approach to tagging and visualizing molecules on cell surfaces using advanced 3D electron microscopy.

Research on gold nanoparticles has been one of the major research topics at the Nanoscience Center of JYU.

Published

2.12.2025

The researchers developed a unique type of gold label consisting of two nanometer-scale gold particles linked together. Because these “gold pairs” look different from regular single gold particles, scientists can now tell two types of labels apart in the same image, something that was difficult before. The research team attached these gold pairs to a molecule that recognizes a specific brain receptor and confirmed that the labels successfully stuck to their targets in both lab-made samples and actual brain tissue.

- By using both single gold particles and linked gold pairs, we can now mark and identify different molecules at the same time. This could help create much clearer maps of how tiny structures are arranged on cells, explains Senior Scientist Eric Gouaux from Oregon Health and Science University.

The resulting platform expands the toolkit for nanoscale molecular mapping and opens opportunities for high-resolution structural analysis in intact tissues.

Background of the researchers

This innovation of linking gold nanoparticles builds on earlier work from the Department of Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyväskylä, where scientists pioneered the covalent linking of gold nanoclusters. In the recent study, this method has been applied in an entirely new context.

- Research of the gold nanoclusters has been one of the significant research topics of the Nanoscience Center at the University of Jyväskylä and has brought together chemists, physicists and biologists. In my research group, we have focused on developing the synthesis of these monodisperse gold nanoclusters and their dithiol cross-linked oligomers explains Senior Lecturer Tanja Lahtinen from the University of Jyväskylä.

Nanoscience Center – A global leader in gold nanocluster research

Nanoscience Center (NSC) of the University of Jyväskylä is Finland's only truly interdisciplinary research unit focusing on nanoscience, and there are only a few similar ones worldwide. The Nanoscience Center is internationally recognized as a leading research unit in the study of gold nanoclusters. Its pioneering work explores the structure, properties, and applications of these nanoscale materials, opening new possibilities in fields such as catalysis, biomedicine, and advanced imaging technologies.

The study has been published on 24 November 2025 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Furter information:

Senior scientist Eric Gouaux, gouauxe@ohsu.edu
Senior lecturer Tanja Lahtinen, tanja.m.lahtinen@jyu.fi, +358408053697

Article information:

Dimeric gold nanoparticles enable multiplexed labeling in cryoelectron tomography, the National Academy of Sciences, PNAS, 24 November 2025
Doi number: 10.1073/pnas.2524034122
Link to article: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2524034122