Multimodal STEM Investigation of Polymer Damage Processes Induced by Electron Beam Irradiation

Chamille Lescott; Sharan Bobbala; Mallika Modak; Roberto Dos Reis; Evan A. Scott; Vinayak P. Dravid

doi:10.1093/micmic/ozac023

Multimodal STEM Investigation of Polymer Damage Processes Induced by Electron Beam Irradiation

Chamille Lescott, Sharan Bobbala, Mallika Modak, Roberto Dos Reis, Evan A. Scott, Vinayak P. Dravid^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Self-assembled polymer nanostructures are useful for many applications, including biomedicine, energy, and sensing, often presenting a more stable and customizable alternative for drug delivery than lipid-based assemblies, like liposomes. Polyethylene glycol-b-poly(propylene sulfide) (PEG-b-PPS) nanostructures are an example of a cutting-edge self-assembled polymer system. Here, to better understand the impact of electron irradiation on the molecular and macroscale structure, we utilize analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy. Through electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), we access information regarding the degradation of PEG-b-PPS self-assembled polymers under the electron beam. By coupling the spatial and temporal resolution afforded by EELS, we describe the movement of elements in the polymer system during radiolysis and propose a mechanism for sample degradation. We believe this work will serve as a blueprint to determine the effects of electron irradiation on polymer architectures via spectroscopy.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	16-26
Number of pages	11
Journal	Microscopy and Microanalysis
Volume	29
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/micmic/ozac023
State	Published - Feb 1 2023

Funding

This work was primarily supported by Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFSOR) FA9550-17-1-0348 (subproject for Reconfigurable Matter from Programmable Atom Equivalents) and C-ABN(AFRL) FA8650-15-2-5518 (Statistics and Dynamics of Soft Biological Structures and Hybrid Soft-Hard Assemblies). Additional funding from ARO/MURI W911NF1810200 (Dravid Subproject for Stimuli-Responsive Control of Protein-Based Molecular Biology). The research of Evan A Scott is supported by the National Science Foundation (CAREER-1453576), the National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award (NHLBI 1DP2HL132390-01), and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID 5R01AI145345-02). This work made use of the BioCryo facility of Northwestern University's NUANCE Center, which has received support from the SHyNE Resource (NSF ECCS-2025633), the IIN, and Northwestern's MRSEC program (NSF DMR-1720139).

Keywords

EELS
electron beam damage nanoparticles
polymers

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Instrumentation

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10.1093/micmic/ozac023

Cite this

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title = "Multimodal STEM Investigation of Polymer Damage Processes Induced by Electron Beam Irradiation",

abstract = "Self-assembled polymer nanostructures are useful for many applications, including biomedicine, energy, and sensing, often presenting a more stable and customizable alternative for drug delivery than lipid-based assemblies, like liposomes. Polyethylene glycol-b-poly(propylene sulfide) (PEG-b-PPS) nanostructures are an example of a cutting-edge self-assembled polymer system. Here, to better understand the impact of electron irradiation on the molecular and macroscale structure, we utilize analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy. Through electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), we access information regarding the degradation of PEG-b-PPS self-assembled polymers under the electron beam. By coupling the spatial and temporal resolution afforded by EELS, we describe the movement of elements in the polymer system during radiolysis and propose a mechanism for sample degradation. We believe this work will serve as a blueprint to determine the effects of electron irradiation on polymer architectures via spectroscopy.",

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AU - Bobbala, Sharan

AU - Modak, Mallika

AU - Dos Reis, Roberto

AU - Scott, Evan A.

AU - Dravid, Vinayak P.

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N2 - Self-assembled polymer nanostructures are useful for many applications, including biomedicine, energy, and sensing, often presenting a more stable and customizable alternative for drug delivery than lipid-based assemblies, like liposomes. Polyethylene glycol-b-poly(propylene sulfide) (PEG-b-PPS) nanostructures are an example of a cutting-edge self-assembled polymer system. Here, to better understand the impact of electron irradiation on the molecular and macroscale structure, we utilize analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy. Through electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), we access information regarding the degradation of PEG-b-PPS self-assembled polymers under the electron beam. By coupling the spatial and temporal resolution afforded by EELS, we describe the movement of elements in the polymer system during radiolysis and propose a mechanism for sample degradation. We believe this work will serve as a blueprint to determine the effects of electron irradiation on polymer architectures via spectroscopy.

AB - Self-assembled polymer nanostructures are useful for many applications, including biomedicine, energy, and sensing, often presenting a more stable and customizable alternative for drug delivery than lipid-based assemblies, like liposomes. Polyethylene glycol-b-poly(propylene sulfide) (PEG-b-PPS) nanostructures are an example of a cutting-edge self-assembled polymer system. Here, to better understand the impact of electron irradiation on the molecular and macroscale structure, we utilize analytical scanning transmission electron microscopy. Through electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), we access information regarding the degradation of PEG-b-PPS self-assembled polymers under the electron beam. By coupling the spatial and temporal resolution afforded by EELS, we describe the movement of elements in the polymer system during radiolysis and propose a mechanism for sample degradation. We believe this work will serve as a blueprint to determine the effects of electron irradiation on polymer architectures via spectroscopy.

KW - EELS

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Multimodal STEM Investigation of Polymer Damage Processes Induced by Electron Beam Irradiation

Abstract

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Keywords

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