Liquid Phase TEM: Imaging Soft Nanomaterials in Solution, in Motion and in Action

Polymers, biopolymers and functional small molecules form commonplace nanoscale macromolecular compartments and bilayers, and as such are essential components in all cells and in many cellular processes. The nature of these architectures, including their formation, phase changes, and stimuli-response behaviors are necessary for the most basic functions of life, and over the past half-century, these natural organic structures have inspired a vast diversity of industrial products, from biomedicines to detergents, lubricants and coatings. The importance of these materials and their ubiquity, have made them the subject of intense investigation regarding their nanoscale dynamics with increasing interest in obtaining sufficient temporal and spatial resolution to directly observe nanoscale processes. However, the vast majority of experimental methods involve either bulk-averaging techniques including light, neutron and X-ray scattering, or are static in nature including even the most advanced cryogenic transmission electron microscopy techniques. Here, we describe <i>in situ</i> liquid cell transmission electron microscopy (LCTEM) for the direct observation of the evolution of individual organic nanoparticles and nanoscale processes in solution, in real time with nanometer spatial resolution. In this presentation we will explore a range of organic materials, biomaterials and hybrid materials for their formation and growth in solution including in aqueous, in organic solvents and in emulsions.