Visualization of Cellulose Structures with Cesium Labeling and Cryo-STEM
Journal article, 2025
Cellulose, a pivotal component of plant cell walls, is a widely studied biologically derived material with vast potential for numerous applications. However, visualizing the arrangement of individual cellulose molecules within hierarchical structures with electron microscopy has proven challenging due to the material's low contrast and high beam sensitivity. In this study, a novel approach is introduced that combines labeling of cellulose functional groups with high-contrast cesium counter cations (Cs+) in conjunction with atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) in annular dark-field (ADF) mode at cryogenic temperatures. This technique allows for the identification of individual sulfate groups attached to cellulose chains within cellulose nanocrystal hierarchies at Ångström resolution. Systematic comparison of experimentally obtained interatomic Cs+ distances with simulations potentially enables the localization of the labeled functional groups at the macromolecular level. The method has the potential to elucidate the polymer chain arrangements in nanoscale soft materials.
cellulose nanocrystals
cesium labeling
cellulose ultrastructure
cryo-scanning transmission electron microscopy
Author
Daniel Knez
Technische Universität Graz
Patrick Petschacher
Technische Universität Graz
Helmar Wiltsche
Technische Universität Graz
Jean Luc Putaux
Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolecules Vegetales
Yoshiharu Nishiyama
Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolecules Vegetales
Yu Ogawa
Centre de Recherches sur les Macromolecules Vegetales
Gerald Kothleitner
Technische Universität Graz
Graz Centre for Electron Microscopy
Tiina Nypelö
Aalto University
Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry
Stefan Spirk
Technische Universität Graz
Small
1613-6810 (ISSN) 1613-6829 (eISSN)
Vol. In PressEnabling Science and Technology through European Electron Microscopy (ESTEEM3)
European Commission (EC) (EC/H2020/823717), 2019-01-01 -- 2022-12-31.
Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)
Chemical Sciences
Physical Sciences
Areas of Advance
Materials Science
DOI
10.1002/smll.202500351
PubMed
40317993