Nano Biomedicine
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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 MUTOH1, Shigeaki ABE1, Atsushi HYONO2, Hiroshi MATSUURA2, Ko NAKANISHI1, Koji KAWAI3, Mariko NAKAMURA4, Satoshi INOUE1, Yasuhiro YOSHIDA1, Junichiro IIDA1, and Tetsu YONEZAWA5
1Graduate School of Dental Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
2Department of Materials Chemistry, National Institute of Technology,
Asahikawa College, Asahikawa, Japan
3Miyoshi Oil and Fat Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
4School of Health Science, Kyushu University of Health and Welfare, Nobeoka, Japan
5Department of Material Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering,
Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
Nano Biomed 2015;7(2): 72-80, (Dec 30, Nano Biomedicine)
Synopsis
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.

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

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