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Updated: Jun 28, 2025

A Sample Preparation Pipeline for Microcrystals at the VMXm Beamline
Published on: June 17, 2021
Studying crystallisation processes using electron microscopy: The importance of sample preparation
Martha Ilett1, Maryam Afzali1, Bilal Abdulkarim1
1School of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.
Abstract:
We present a comparison of common electron microscopy sample preparation methods for studying crystallisation processes from solution using both scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM). We focus on two widely studied inorganic systems: calcium sulphate, gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3). We find significant differences in crystallisation kinetics and polymorph selection between the different sample preparation methods, which indicate that drying and chemical quenching can induce severe artefacts that are capable of masking the true native state of the crystallising solution. Overall, these results highlight the importance of cryogenic (cryo)-quenching crystallising solutions and the use of full cryo-TEM as the most reliable method for studying the early stages of crystallisation.
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