Nanoparticles of two different sizes (40 and 500 nm) were attached to the membrane of a QX-102 capsule and imaged in fully wet environment, in QX-102 Imaging Buffer.
Right: Polymeric capsules encapsulate the organic active ingredient in a core-shell commercial product. Left: Capsules remain aggregated in a polymeric phase within the water environment. The cavity of the capsules can be observed when imaging at higher acceleration voltages.
Left: PZT, Pb(Ti,Zr)O3 ceramic particles in a water solution. Sample was placed on a poly-sodium sulfonate coated QX-102 capsule membrane. Right: Cerium-godolinium oxide ceramic particles in terpineol. (Courtesy of Dr. Alessandra Sanson, ISTEC, Italy.)
Silver nanoparticles synthesized by reduction of silver ions in water, dried sample on the left and wet on the right. Imaging the dried suspension will not reflect the true level of aggregation. The image of the dried suspension shows a high degree of aggregation as a result of the drying process. The particles in the WETSEM image on the right are mostly isolated, with the existing aggregates much smaller than those seen on the left.