Preparation of cellulose nanofibrils for imaging purposes: comparison of liquid cryogens for rapid vitrification

Artifact-free imaging of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from aqueous nanocellulose suspensions is nontrivial due to frequent irreversible agglomeration and structure damage during the course of sample preparation, especially as water is solidified prior to freeze-drying. In this study, we have examine...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cellulose (London) 2018, Vol.25 (8), p.4269-4274
Main Authors: Torstensen, Jonathan Ø., Johnsen, Per-Olav, Riis, Henrik, Spontak, Richard J., Deng, Liyuan, Gregersen, Øyvind W., Syverud, Kristin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bioorganic Chemistry
Cellulose
Cellulose nanofibril
Cellulose nanofibrils
Cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs)
Ceramics
Chemistry
Chemistry and Materials Science
Communication
Composites
Cryopreparation
Drying
Ethane
Freeze drying
Glass
Liquids
Low temperature drying
Morphology
Nanocellulose
Nanofibers
Nanofibril
Natural Materials
Organic Chemistry
Physical Chemistry
Polymer Sciences
Sample preparation
Scanning electron microscopy
Structural damage
Structural elements
Structural members
Structure damage
Survivability
Suspensions (fluids)
Sustainable Development
Vitrification
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Summary:Artifact-free imaging of cellulose nanofibrils (CNFs) from aqueous nanocellulose suspensions is nontrivial due to frequent irreversible agglomeration and structure damage during the course of sample preparation, especially as water is solidified prior to freeze-drying. In this study, we have examined the morphologies of CNF suspensions prepared by rapid vitrification in two different liquid cryogens—nitrogen and ethane—followed by freeze-drying. Results obtained by scanning electron microscopy confirm that vitrification in liquid ethane not only greatly improves the survivability of fine-scale CNF structural elements but also significantly reduces the propensity for CNF to agglomerate.
ISSN:0969-0239
1572-882X
1572-882X
DOI:10.1007/s10570-018-1854-8