ABSTRACT
Cryogenic-temperature transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) is an excellent tool to obtain direct imaging of liquid or semiliquid specimens, thermally fixed into a vitreous or quasi-solid state. Sample preparation for cryo-TEM makes it possible to preserve the nanostructure of the system in its native state while making it compatible with the stringent requirement of the microscope. In the case of micellar systems, including “giant micelles,” cryo-TEM is most useful to image the range of the nanostructures present in those systems, for example, threadlike micelles coexisting with spheroidal micelles, branched TLMs, and TLMs that form loops or lassolike micelles. All TEM specimens must be thin, not thicker than about 300 nm, for the usual accelerating voltage of 120 kV. Thicker specimens give rise to inelastic electron scattering that deteriorates image quality. However, inelastically scattered electrons may be filtered out in those electron microscopes that are equipped with an in-column or post-column energy filter.
