• 文献标题:   Scanning electron microscopy of Escherichia coli encapsulated in a spacerized graphene sandwich
  • 文献类型:   Article
  • 作  者:   SASAKI Y, HIRAYAMA S, NAKAO R
  • 作者关键词:   in situ, graphene, scanning electron microscopy, bacteria, liquid cell, graphene sandwich
  • 出版物名称:   MICROSCOPY
  • ISSN:   2050-5698 EI 2050-5701
  • 通讯作者地址:  
  • 被引频次:   0
  • DOI:   10.1093/jmicro/dfac010 EA FEB 2022
  • 出版年:   2022

▎ 摘  要

Electron microscopy of biological materials such as bacteria allows multifaceted analysis to understand their structure and function with high resolution, which is difficult to achieve with optical microscopy. However, the samples are damaged or broken by electron beam irradiation and by the vacuum environment. Here, we observed bacteria in a suspension encapsulated in a graphene sandwich that prevents electron beam damage without the need for fixation. Specifically, we demonstrated in situ scanning electron microscopy observation of Escherichia coli in a graphene sandwich containing a perforated membrane as a spacer, encapsulating non-immobilized E. coli between the graphene layers. However, E. coli activity, such as division, was not observed, although the irradiated cells grew slightly when resuspended under optimal culture conditions. Our findings suggest that the graphene sandwich methodology enables the observation of wet E. coli cells by electron microscopy but requires refinement to allow the live imaging of biological materials.