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Related Concept Videos

Cryo-electron Microscopy01:28

Cryo-electron Microscopy

Conventional electron microscopy (EM) involves dehydration, fixation, and staining of biological samples, which distorts the native state of biological molecules and results in several artifacts. Also, the high-energy electron beam damages the sample and makes it difficult to obtain high-resolution images. These issues can be addressed using cryo-EM, which uses frozen samples and gentler electron beams. The technique was developed by Jacques Dubochet, Joachim Frank, and Richard Henderson, for...
Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation01:24

Freezing Point Depression and Boiling Point Elevation

When a non-volatile solute is added to a pure solvent, it results in the lowering of the freezing point of the solvent. This phenomenon is called freezing point depression. The extent to which the freezing point is lowered depends on the molality of the solute -the number of moles of solute per kilogram of solvent and the cryoscopic constant of the solvent.From the plot of chemical potential, μ, against temperature, it is evident that the μ of both solid and liquid solvents decrease with...
Chemical Shift: Internal References and Solvent Effects01:17

Chemical Shift: Internal References and Solvent Effects

In an NMR sample, precise measurement of the absolute absorption frequencies of nuclei is difficult. A standard internal reference compound is added, and the frequency difference between the reference signal and sample signals is measured.
The internal reference compound generally used in NMR spectroscopy is tetramethylsilane (TMS). TMS is preferred because it is chemically inert, soluble in NMR solvents, and easily removable. Also, the highly shielded methyl protons in TMS yield an intense...
Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing02:39

Phase Transitions: Melting and Freezing

Heating a crystalline solid increases the average energy of its atoms, molecules, or ions, and the solid gets hotter. At some point, the added energy becomes large enough to partially overcome the forces holding the molecules or ions of the solid in their fixed positions, and the solid begins the process of transitioning to the liquid state or melting. At this point, the temperature of the solid stops rising, despite the continual input of heat, and it remains constant until all of the solid is...

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Studying the Supramolecular Organization of Photosynthetic Membranes within Freeze-fractured Leaf Tissues by Cryo-scanning Electron Microscopy
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Cryo-EELS elemental mapping of organic-solvent systems.

Daisuke Unabara1,2, Yohei K Sato1,2, Tasuku Hamaguchi1,2

  • 1Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials (IMRAM), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8577, Japan.

Microscopy (Oxford, England)
|May 29, 2026
PubMed
Summary

Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) now effectively analyzes nanomaterials in organic solvents like methanol. This breakthrough enables detailed visualization and elemental mapping of materials in non-aqueous systems.

Keywords:
cryo-EELS imagingcryo-TEMelemental mapnanomaterialsvitrification of organic solvents

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Electron Microscopy
  • Nanotechnology

Background:

  • Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) is vital for observing nanomaterials in a vitrified state with minimal electron beam damage.
  • Current cryo-TEM applications are limited in organic solvent systems due to challenges in vitrification and solvent susceptibility to electron beams.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To optimize cryo-TEM vitrification protocols for organic solvent systems, specifically using methanol.
  • To expand cryo-TEM capabilities for analyzing nanomaterials dispersed in organic solvents.

Main Methods:

  • Optimized a reproducible blotting method for thin methanol films and established freezing conditions for amorphous methanol vitrification.
  • Applied cryogenic electron energy-loss spectroscopy (cryo-EELS) elemental mapping to frozen methanol samples.
  • Investigated mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) dispersed in methanol using the developed cryo-TEM and cryo-EELS techniques.

Main Results:

  • Successfully developed efficient vitrification protocols for methanol, enabling amorphous ice formation.
  • Demonstrated the capability of cryo-EELS to detect elemental signals from frozen methanol and map their spatial distribution.
  • Clearly visualized silicon signals from MSNs within frozen methanol, confirming the technique's applicability.

Conclusions:

  • The study successfully adapted cryo-TEM and cryo-EELS for analyzing materials in organic solvents like methanol.
  • This advancement allows for the visualization and elemental analysis of both solvent components and nanomaterials in frozen organic systems.
  • Expands the potential of cryo-TEM for advanced materials research involving organic solvent systems.