Abstract: The invention relates to electron microscopy (EM) supports for in situ cryo-electron tomography, particularly to contactless and mask-free photo-micropatterning of EM grids for site-specific deposition of extracellular matrix-related proteins for micromachining by cryo-focused ion beam milling. The new EM supports allow for analysis of intracellular organization, permitting direct correlation of cell biology and biomechanics by 3D-structural characterization of the underlying molecular machinery in cellulo.