Longer-Lasting Electron-Based Microscopy of Single Molecules in Aqueous Medium
Research Highlight
Getting heavy with electron microscopy
© Science Photo Library - STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/Getty
Swapping ‘heavy’ water for regular water should allow scientists to use transmission electron microscopy (TEM) to observe biological materials in water using for longer before damage occurs.
Although a powerful technology for studying molecules in dry or frozen states, the high-energy electron beams used in TEM to probe molecules in water generate an electric charge that breaks chemical bonds and damage specimens.
Now, a team of scientists at the Institute for Basic Sciences has used
The scientists found that organic molecules dissolved in D2O lasted 2 to 5 times longer than those dissolved in water.
- ACS Nano 12, 8572–8578 (2018). doi: 10.1021/acsnano.8b04190
Institutions | Share |
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Center for Soft and Living Matter, IBS, South Korea | 0.67 |
Department of Chemistry, UNIST, South Korea | 0.27 |
Department of Physics, UNIST, South Korea | 0.07 |