Quantitative 3D structural analysis of small colloidal assemblies under native conditions by liquid-cell fast electron tomography

Daniel Arenas Esteban, Da Wang, Ajinkya Kadu, Noa Olluyn, Ana Sánchez-Iglesias, Alejandro Gomez-Perez, Jesús González-Casablanca, Stavros Nicolopoulos, Luis M. Liz-Marzán () and Sara Bals ()
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Daniel Arenas Esteban: University of Antwerp
Da Wang: University of Antwerp
Ajinkya Kadu: University of Antwerp
Noa Olluyn: University of Antwerp
Ana Sánchez-Iglesias: CIC biomaGUNE
Alejandro Gomez-Perez: NanoMegas SRPL
Jesús González-Casablanca: Rey Juan Carlos University
Stavros Nicolopoulos: NanoMegas SRPL
Luis M. Liz-Marzán: CIC biomaGUNE
Sara Bals: University of Antwerp

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Electron tomography has become a commonly used tool to investigate the three-dimensional (3D) structure of nanomaterials, including colloidal nanoparticle assemblies. However, electron microscopy is typically done under high-vacuum conditions, requiring sample preparation for assemblies obtained by wet colloid chemistry methods. This involves solvent evaporation and deposition on a solid support, which consistently alters the nanoparticle organization. Here, we suggest using electron tomography to study nanoparticle assemblies in their original colloidal liquid environment. To address the challenges related to electron tomography in liquid, we devise a method that combines fast data acquisition in a commercial liquid-cell with a dedicated alignment and reconstruction workflow. We present the advantages of this methodology in accurately characterizing two different systems. 3D reconstructions of assemblies comprising polystyrene-capped Au nanoparticles encapsulated in polymeric shells reveal less compact and more distorted configurations for experiments performed in a liquid medium compared to their dried counterparts. A similar expansion can be observed in quantitative analysis of the surface-to-surface distances of self-assembled Au nanorods in water rather than in a vacuum, in agreement with bulk measurements. This study, therefore, emphasizes the importance of developing high-resolution characterization tools that preserve the native environment of colloidal nanostructures.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50652-y

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