Speaker
Description
Gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds fabricated using the electrospinning technique and stabilized using chemical cross-linking [1] are characterized using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FE-SEM). Biomaterials like gelatin are commonly electron beam sensitive and non-conductive. Thus, high resolution SEM imaging of biomaterial samples is often challenged by charging and beam damage. Options to deal with these two issues are to use a low electron beam energy and low electron beam current which, however, lead to strongly reduced image resolution at low beam energy and very poor signal-to-noise ratio when using low beam current.
With the high-resolution capabilities of the ZEISS GeminiSEM 560 at low beam energies and low beam currents, beam sensitive and non-conductive samples like biopolymers can be pursued without encountering the challenges of charging and beam damage. The characterizations of uncoated crosslinked gelatin scaffolds are more time efficient and reveal even more structural details. A conductive coating on the surface of the non-conductive biomaterial sample is no longer necessary. The GeminiSEM 560 provides sub-nanometer resolution at low beam energy. The novel Gemini 3 column technology introduces the Nano-twin lens and a Smart Autopilot optical engine. Furthermore, the GeminiSEM 560 comes with significantly improved detection efficiency which allows to work with very low beam current and thus avoid sample damage. The low beam energy and low beam current approaches by means of the GeminiSEM 560 were successfully used to characterize the morphology of gelatin nanofibrous scaffolds and provide beneficial insights for the design and fabrication of novel fibrous materials.
[1] C.S. de Oliveira, A.T. González, T. Hedtke, T. Kürbitz, A. Heilmann, C.E.H. Schmelzer, J. Martins de S. e Silva, Materials Science and Engineering: C, Volume 115, October 2020, 111045
| Speaker Country | Deutschland |
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