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Updated: Feb 1, 2026

Revealing Dynamic Processes of Materials in Liquids Using Liquid Cell Transmission Electron Microscopy
Published on: December 20, 2012
Imaging of soft materials using in situ liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy
Kun He1, Tolou Shokuhfar2, Reza Shahbazian-Yassar1
1Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, United States of America.
None:
This review summarizes the breakthroughs in the field of soft material characterization by in situ liquid-cell transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The focus of this review is mostly on soft biological species such as cells, bacteria, viruses, proteins and polymers. The comparison between the two main liquid-cell systems (silicon nitride membranes liquid cell and graphene liquid cell) is also discussed in terms of their spatial resolution and imaging/analytical capabilities. We have showcased how liquid-cell TEM can reveal the structural details of whole cells, enable the chemical probing of proteins, detect the structural conformation of viruses, and monitor the dynamics of polymerization. In addition, the challenges faced by decoupling electron beam effect on beam-sensitive soft materials are discussed. At the end, future perspectives of in situ liquid-cell TEM studies of soft materials are outlined.
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