Electron Beam-Induced Transformation in High-Density Amorphous Ices

Amorphous ice is commonly used as a noncrystalline matrix for protecting sensitive biological samples in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The amorphization process of water is complex, and at least two amorphous states of different densities are known to exist, high- and low-density amorphou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The journal of physical chemistry. B 2020-10, Vol.124 (41), p.9283-9288
Main Authors: Xu, Hongyi, Ångström, Jonas, Eklund, Tobias, Amann-Winkel, Katrin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
B: Fluid Interfaces, Colloids, Polymers, Soft Matter, Surfactants, and Glassy Materials
Electrons
Phase Transition
Temperature
Transition Temperature
Water
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Summary:Amorphous ice is commonly used as a noncrystalline matrix for protecting sensitive biological samples in cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM). The amorphization process of water is complex, and at least two amorphous states of different densities are known to exist, high- and low-density amorphous ices (HDA and LDA). These forms are considered to be the counterparts of two distinct liquid states, namely, high- and low-density liquid water. Herein, we investigate the HDA to LDA transition using electron diffraction and cryo-EM. The observed phase transition is induced by the impact of electrons, and we discuss two different mechanisms, namely, local heating and beam-induced motion of water molecules. The temperature increase is estimated by comparison with X-ray scattering experiments on identically prepared samples. Our results suggest that HDA, under the conditions used in our cryo-EM measurements, is locally heated above its glass-transition temperature.
ISSN:1520-6106
1520-5207
1520-5207
DOI:10.1021/acs.jpcb.0c08232