Virginia Tech, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Macromolecules Innovation Institute (MII), 213 Holden Hall, 445 Old Turner Street, Blacksburg, VA, 24061, USA.
Carbohydr Polym. 2018 Apr 15;186:429-438. doi: 10.1016/j.carbpol.2018.01.054. Epub 2018 Jan 31.
Characterization of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is often complex and tedious. With their increased use for biological materials, polymer reinforcing agents, and other applications, better characterization methods of CNCs are needed to ensure product quality. However, because of their small size, hydrogen bonding, and low electron density, individual CNCs are difficult to image with high resolution and magnification using electron microscopy. Methods to help counter these challenges include staining for increased contrast and techniques to increase dispersion. This work tested several stains, dispersing agents, and sample supports to find a consistent method of individualizing CNCs and providing good contrast for imaging in transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The most consistent method found uses a low concentration of CNCs, bovine serum albumin as a dispersing agent, and Nanovan as the contrasting stain on a silicon monoxide-coated Formvar TEM grid.
纤维素纳米晶体（CNCs）的特性通常较为复杂和繁琐。随着其在生物材料、聚合物增强剂和其他应用中的使用日益增加，需要更好的 CNC 特性描述方法来确保产品质量。然而，由于其尺寸小、氢键和低电子密度，使用电子显微镜以高分辨率和放大倍数对单个 CNC 进行成像具有一定难度。有助于克服这些挑战的方法包括提高对比度的染色和增加分散性的技术。这项工作测试了几种染色剂、分散剂和样品载体，以找到一种将 CNC 单个化并为透射电子显微镜（TEM）成像提供良好对比度的一致方法。发现最一致的方法是使用低浓度的 CNC、牛血清白蛋白作为分散剂，以及 Nanovan 作为涂有二氧化硅的 Formvar TEM 网格上的对比染色剂。
