Journal
CHEMBIOCHEM
Volume 22, Issue 15, Pages 2488-2506Publisher
WILEY-V C H VERLAG GMBH
DOI: 10.1002/cbic.202100041
Keywords
Ionic Liquids; Electron Microscopy; Biology; Life Science; in situ Electron Microscopy; Imaging
Funding
- McMaster Faculty of Engineering Big Ideas fund
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant Program [RGPIN-2020-05722]
- Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship (Vanier CGS) program
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Room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) have been proposed as an alternative to traditional lengthy preparation methods for biological imaging using electron microscopy, allowing for imaging of hard-to-image soft and/or wet samples without dehydration. Future research avenues should focus on RTIL selection and optimization, applications for live cell processes, and electron beam and ionic liquid interaction studies.
For biological imaging using electron microscopy (EM), the use of room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) has been proposed as an alternative to traditional lengthy preparation methods. With their low vapor pressures and conductivity, RTILs can be applied onto hard-to-image soft and/or wet samples without dehydration - allowing for a more representative, hydrated state of material and opening the possibility for visualization of in situ physiological processes using conventional EM systems. However, RTILs have yet to be utilized to their full potential by microscopists and microbiologists alike. To this end, this review aims to provide a comprehensive summary of biological applications of RTILs for EM to bridge the RTIL, in situ microscopy, and biological communities. We outline future research avenues for the use of RTILs for the EM observation of biological samples, notably i) RTIL selection and optimization, ii) applications for live cell processes and iii) electron beam and ionic liquid interaction studies.
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