Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy: the technique of choice for the characterization of polymeric nanocarriers
Open accessAbstract
This letter is meant to make scientists aware of the proper application of transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for the assessment of polymeric self-assemblies. Cryogenic (cryo)-TEM should be the method of choice. Here, we show the difference in morphologies observed in the same sample when using cryo-TEM and when using TEM with drying, demonstrating the importance of choosing the proper method.
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The majority of micelles morphological evaluations found in the literature are performed using TEM.
“the majority of micelles morphological evaluations found in the literature are performed by using TEM”
From Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions (2021) · cites this paper as [169]
The Correspondence (page unavailable) says the authors used TEM to characterize their own polymeric micelles and discusses TEM as a method for assessing morphology. It does not establish that TEM is used for the majority of micelle morphology evaluations in the literature. (LLM, conf=0.78)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredcryo-TEM is recognized as a more suitable tool for micelles imaging than standard TEM.
“despite cryo-TEM is recognized as a more suitable tool for micelles imaging than standard TEM”
From Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions (2021) · cites this paper as [169]
TEM results often, though not always, demonstrated agreement with cryo-TEM observations.
“whose results often (even if not always [170]) demonstrated to be in agreement with cryo-TEM observations [169,171].”
From Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions (2021) · cites this paper as [169]
cryo-TEM is a very expensive and time-consuming technique with a difficult set-up requiring highly skilled microscopists.
“cryo-TEM is a very expensive and time-consuming technique with a difficult set-up requiring highly skilled microscopists [169].”
From Polymeric micelles in drug delivery: An insight of the techniques for their characterization and assessment in biorelevant conditions (2021) · cites this paper as [169]
The Materials and methods section describes the cryo-TEM equipment and sample preparation, but does not assess their cost, time demands, setup difficulty, or required expertise. A search for those terms found no supporting passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.76)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
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Cites
Imaging of Self‐Assembled Structures: Interpretation of TEM and Cryo‐TEM Images
Friedrich, H., Frederik, P. M., de With, G., & Sommerdijk, N. A. J. M. (2010) · Angewandte Chemie International Edition · doi:10.1002/anie.201001493 · Cited by 237 · see citing works
Cui, H., Hodgdon, T. K., Kaler, E. W., Abezgauz, L., Danino, D., Lubovsky, M., Talmon, Y., & Pochan, D. J. (2007) · Soft Matter · doi:10.1039/b704194b · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Franken, L. E., Boekema, E. J., & Stuart, M. C. A. (2017) · Advanced Science · doi:10.1002/advs.201600476 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
The analysis of solution self-assembled polymeric nanomaterials
Patterson, J. P., Robin, M. P., Chassenieux, C., Colombani, O., & O’Reilly, R. K. (2014) · Chemical Society Reviews · doi:10.1039/c3cs60454c · Cited by 195 · see citing works
Radiolabeling polymeric micelles for in vivo evaluation: a novel, fast, and facile method
Laan, A. C., Santini, C., Jennings, L., de Jong, M., Bernsen, M. R., & Denkova, A. G. (2016) · EJNMMI Research · doi:10.1186/s13550-016-0167-x · Cited by 44 · see citing works
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Ghezzi, M., Pescina, S., Padula, C., Santi, P., Del Favero, E., Cantù, L., & Nicoli, S. (2021) · Journal of Controlled Release · doi:10.1016/j.jconrel.2021.02.031 · Cited by 1,135 · see citing works
- Authors
- Laan, A. C., & Denkova, A. G.
- Affiliations
- Delft University of Technology (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Laan, Adrianus C.
- Venue
- EJNMMI Research
- Published
- 2017-05-22
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 44-44
- ISSN
- 2191-219X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5440420
- OpenAlex
- W2620177049
- Cited by
- 12
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 1 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 0.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- EJNMMI Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Research Repository (Delft University of Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Structural Biology › Advanced Electron Microscopy Techniques and Applications
- Physical Sciences › Materials Science › Biomaterials › Nanoparticle-Based Drug Delivery
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Biomedical Engineering › Advanced Materials Characterization Techniques
- Keywords
- cryo-TEM, polymeric nanocarriers, sample preparation, specimen drying
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