Issue 8, 2007

Elucidating the assembled structure of amphiphiles in solution viacryogenic transmission electron microscopy

Abstract

For the past twenty years, significant progress has been made in both developing cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) technology and understanding assembled behavior of amphiphilic molecules. Cryo-TEM can provide high-resolution images of complex fluids in a near in situ state. Samples embedded in a thin layer of vitrified solvent do not exhibit artifacts that would normally occur when using chemical fixation or staining-and-drying techniques. Cryo-TEM has been useful in imaging biological molecules in aqueous solutions. Cryo-TEM has become a powerful tool in the study of in situ-assembled structures of amphiphiles in solution as a complementary tool to small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering, light scattering, rheology measurements, and nuclear magnetic resonance. The application of cryo-TEM in the study of assembled behavior of amphiphilic block copolymers, hydrogels, and other complex soft systems continues to emerge. In this context, the usage of cryo-TEM in the field of amphiphilic complex fluids and self-assembled nano-materials is briefly reviewed, and its unique role in exploring the nature of assembled structure in liquid suspension is highlighted.

Graphical abstract: Elucidating the assembled structure of amphiphiles in solution via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy

Article information

Article type
Emerging Area
Submitted
20 Mar 2007
Accepted
31 May 2007
First published
28 Jun 2007

Soft Matter, 2007,3, 945-955

Elucidating the assembled structure of amphiphiles in solution via cryogenic transmission electron microscopy

H. Cui, T. K. Hodgdon, E. W. Kaler, L. Abezgauz, D. Danino, M. Lubovsky, Y. Talmon and D. J. Pochan, Soft Matter, 2007, 3, 945 DOI: 10.1039/B704194B

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