Cryo-Ultramicrotomy of Complex Molecular Fluids

Abstract

Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) has become a powerful tool for probing the structures of soft-matter materials at nanometer or sub-nanometer scale. For many complex molecular fluids (CMFs), the limiting factor in such studies is the preparation of a cryo-TEM specimen that represents the native structure. Plunge freezing of electron-transparent thin films has been widely used, but it is often influenced or even dominated by surface effects and mechanical disturbances of the CMF. In this article, we use liquid crystals as model CMF systems and present the general procedures and typical results of cryo-ultramicrotomy of rapidly frozen “bulk” samples.