Cu pd tem grids

Cu/Pd TEM grids (Agar
Scientific, UK) were coated in-house with a thin carbon film. A single
7 μL droplet of a 0.1% w/w aqueous dispersion of a glutaraldehyde-crosslinked
PHBA latex (or glutaraldehyde-crosslinked PHBA–PNAEP diblock
copolymer nanoparticles) was pipetted onto the carbon-coated grid
and carefully blotted with a filter paper after 1 min. Then, a single
7 μL droplet of a 0.75% w/w aqueous solution of uranyl formate
was pipetted onto the grid for 1 min to stain the deposited particles.
Excess stain was removed using a vacuum hose. A Philips CM100 transmission
electron microscope equipped with a Gatan 1k CCD camera was used to
image the stained samples at an accelerating voltage of 100 kV and
a beam current of 3 mA.

Cu/Pd TEM grids (Agar
Scientific, U.K.) were coated in-house with a thin film of amorphous
carbon and then treated with a plasma glow discharge for 30 s to generate
a hydrophilic surface. A 10 μL droplet of a freshly diluted
0.5% w/w aqueous copolymer dispersion was pipetted onto a hydrophilic
grid for 1 min, then carefully blotted with filter paper to remove
excess sample. Then a single 10 μL droplet of a 0.75% w/w aqueous
solution of uranyl formate was pipetted onto the grid for 20 s to
stain the deposited particles. Excess stain was carefully blotted
and dried using a vacuum hose. Imaging was performed using an FEI
Tecnai Spirit 2 microscope equipped with an Orius SC1000B camera and
operating at an accelerating voltage of 80 kV.