title: STEM mode in the SEM: a practical tool for nanotoxicology.
abstract: The addition of a transmitted electron detector to a scanning electron microscope (SEM) allows the recording of bright and dark field scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM) images and the corresponding in-lens secondary electron images from the same region of a thin sample. These combined imaging techniques have been applied here to the analysis of ultrathin sections of cells exposed in vitro to nanomaterials for toxicology investigation. Electron microscopy in general permits the exact nature of the interaction of nanomaterials and cells to be elucidated, and in addition the use of STEM mode in the SEM enables the easy identification and exclusion of artefacts produced by ultramicrotome sectioning. The imaging and analysis obtained by using the STEM mode in the SEM configuration from three different nanomaterial systems of importance (iron oxide nanoparticles, single-walled carbon nanotubes and cadmium selenide quantum dots) indicate that it is a simple, practical and cost-effective tool for nanotoxicological research.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Materials Research, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK. N.Hondow@leeds.ac.uk
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hondow
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Harrington
authors.forename: Rik
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Brydson
authors.forename: Shareen H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Doak
authors.forename: Neenu
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Bella
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Manshian
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D006801:Humans; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D017348:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning Transmission / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D014116:Toxicology / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*