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Updated: May 13, 2026

Direct Synthesis of EM-Visible Gold Nanoparticles in Cells for Protein Localization Analysis with Well-Preserved Ultrastructure
Published on: April 28, 2023
In situ visualization of self-assembly of charged gold nanoparticles
Yuzi Liu1, Xiao-Min Lin, Yugang Sun
1Center for Nanoscale Materials, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinios 60439, USA. yuziliu@anl.gov
Abstract:
Self-assembly of Au nanoparticles (NPs) coated with positively charged cetyltrimethylammonium ions (CTA(+)) and negatively charged citrate ions in aqueous liquid cell was investigated by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Under electron illumination in TEM, the hydrated electrons will reduce the overall positive charges of the CTA(+) covered Au NPs and decrease the repulsive electrostatic forces among NPs, leading to assembly of individual NPs into one-dimensional structures. On the contrary, the negatively charged Au NPs coated with citrate ions are steady in liquid cell regardless of electron beam intensity.

