Electroconductive Pretreatment of Several Types of Non-conductive Wet Biological Samples for SEM using a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid: Simple and Rapid          Conductive Preparation

Mami MUTOH; Shigeaki ABE; Atsushi HYONO; Hiroshi MATSUURA; Ko NAKANISHI; Koji KAWAI; Mariko NAKAMURA; Satoshi INOUE; Yasuhiro YOSHIDA; Junichiro IIDA; Tetsu YONEZAWA

doi:10.11344/nano.7.72

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Electroconductive Pretreatment of Several Types of Non-conductive Wet Biological Samples for SEM using a Room Temperature Ionic Liquid: Simple and Rapid Conductive Preparation

Mami MUTOH, Shigeaki ABE, Atsushi HYONO, Hiroshi MATSUURA, Ko NAKANISHI, Koji KAWAI, Mariko NAKAMURA, Satoshi INOUE, Yasuhiro YOSHIDA, Junichiro IIDA, Tetsu YONEZAWA

Author information

Mami MUTOH
Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Shigeaki ABE
Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Atsushi HYONO
Department of Materials Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Asahikawa College, Asahikawa, Japan
Hiroshi MATSUURA
Department of Materials Chemistry, National Institute of Technology, Asahikawa College, Asahikawa, Japan
Ko NAKANISHI
Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Koji KAWAI
Miyoshi Oil and Fat Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
Mariko NAKAMURA
School of Health Science, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, Nobeoka, Japan
Satoshi INOUE
Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Yasuhiro YOSHIDA
Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Junichiro IIDA
Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Tetsu YONEZAWA
Department of Material Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan

Keywords: Room temperature ionic liquid, SEM, wet biological samples, Simple and rapid conductive preparation

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2015 Volume 7 Issue 2 Pages 72-80

DOI https://doi.org/10.11344/nano.7.72

Details

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the use of a room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) for the pretreatment of wet biological samples for scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The characteristic properties of RTILs, such as high electroconductivity and no vapor pressure, makes them appropriate for the conductive preparation of samples for SEM. We found that only a drop of RTILs was required to immerse the sample surface and provide sufficient electroconductivity for high-quality SEM images. Furthermore, the RTILs pretreatment prevented the destruction and collapse of the wet, swollen biological samples, even under high vacuum conditions. Thus, this rapid and simple pretreatment allowed, SEM images of wet biological samples to be obtained as "living matter." These results suggest that the use of RTILs in the preparation of samples, particularly wet biological samples, can be a powerful tool for SEM.

Corresponding author

Register with J-STAGE for free!