Microfluidic system for transmission electron microscopy

Journal Article · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2010 · Microscopy and Microanalysis

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/S1431927610093669· OSTI ID:1028734

Ring, Elisabeth A ^[1]; De Jonge, Niels ^[1]

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1. ORNL

We present a microfluidic system that maintains liquid flow in a specimen chamber for (scanning) transmission electron microscope ((S)TEM) imaging. The specimen chamber consists of two ultra-thin silicon nitride windows supported by silicon microchips. They are placed in a specimen holder that seals the sample from the vacuum in the electron microscope, and incorporates tubing to and from the sample connected to a syringe pump outside the microscope. Using results obtained from fluorescence microscopy of microspheres flowing through the system, an equation to characterize the liquid flow through the system was calibrated. Gold nanoparticles of diameters of 30 and 100 nm moving in liquid were imaged with a 200 kV STEM. It was concluded that despite strong influences from Brownian motion, and sensitivity to small changes in the depth of the bypass channel, the electron microscopy flow data matched the calculated flow speed within an order of magnitude. The system allows for rapid (within a minute) liquid exchange, which can potentially be used, for example, to investigate the response of specimens, e.g., eukaryotic-, or bacterial cells, to certain stimuli.

• Research Organization: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); Shared Research Equipment Collaborative Research Center
• Sponsoring Organization: ORNL work for others
• DOE Contract Number: AC05-00OR22725
• OSTI ID: 1028734
• Journal Information: Microscopy and Microanalysis, Journal Name: Microscopy and Microanalysis Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 16; ISSN 1431-9276; ISSN MIMIF7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
ELECTRON MICROSCOPES
ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
FLUORESCENCE
GOLD
LIQUID FLOW
MICROSCOPY
MICROSPHERES
SAMPLE HOLDERS
SENSITIVITY
SILICON
SILICON NITRIDES
STIMULI
TRANSMISSION ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
VELOCITY
WINDOWS