Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
Adv Mater. 2021 Jan;33(2):e2005468. doi: 10.1002/adma.202005468. Epub 2020 Nov 20.
The recent advances in liquid-phase transmission electron microscopy represent tremendous potential in many different fields and exciting new opportunities. However, achieving both high-resolution imaging and operando capabilities remain a significant challenge. This work suggests a novel in situ imaging platform of liquid-flowing graphene chip TEM (LFGC-TEM) equipped with graphene viewing windows and a liquid exchange system. The LFGCs are robust under high-pressure gradients and rapid liquid circulation in ranges covering the experimental conditions accessible with conventional thick SiN chips. LFGC-TEM provides atomic resolution for colloidal nanoparticles and molecular-level information limits for unstained wet biomolecules and cells that are comparable to the resolutions achievable with solid-phase and cryogenic TEM, respectively. This imaging platform can provide an opportunity for live imaging of biological phenomena that is not yet achieved using any current methods.
近年来液相透射电子显微镜技术的进展在许多不同领域都具有巨大的潜力，并带来了令人兴奋的新机遇。然而，实现高分辨率成像和原位操作能力仍然是一个重大挑战。本工作提出了一种新型的配备石墨烯观察窗和液体交换系统的液流式石墨烯芯片透射电子显微镜（LFGC-TEM）原位成像平台。在高压梯度和快速液体循环范围内，LFGC 在常规厚 SiN 芯片可达到的实验条件下具有鲁棒性。LFGC-TEM 可对胶体纳米颗粒进行原子分辨率成像，对未经染色的湿生物分子和细胞提供分子水平的信息限制，其分辨率分别可与固相 TEM 和低温 TEM 相媲美。这种成像平台为使用任何现有方法尚未实现的生物现象的实时成像提供了机会。
