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CN-121994842-A - Sample loading chip

CN121994842ACN 121994842 ACN121994842 ACN 121994842ACN-121994842-A

Abstract

The application relates to a sample loading chip, which comprises a substrate and a supporting piece. The support piece is connected with the substrate, a cavity and a sample injection hole are formed in the support piece, the inner wall of the cavity is a hydrophilic wall surface, and the sample injection hole is communicated with the cavity. When sample liquid is added, the sample liquid enters the cavity through the sample inlet, and as the inner wall of the cavity is a hydrophilic wall surface, the sample liquid can be combined under the action of the precursor film through the diffusion interface, and a liquid bridge is formed, namely the sample liquid wets the whole cavity under the action of capillary force. And after the sample liquid wets the entire chamber, the sample liquid within the chamber is rapidly frozen to form an ice layer containing the sample, i.e., a sample layer. The thickness of the sample layer depends on the distance between the two wall surfaces of the chamber which are arranged opposite to each other in the thickness direction of the support, and thus the thickness of the sample layer can be precisely controlled.

Inventors

  • SUN FANG
  • XU QIANG
  • ZHUANG LEI
  • XIA YANMING
  • LIANG YUJUN
  • TAN HAOLIN

Assignees

  • 广州国家实验室
  • 广州纳境鼎新科技有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20260130

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A sample loading chip, comprising: Substrate; and method for producing the same The support piece is connected with the substrate, a cavity and a sample injection hole are formed in the support piece, the inner wall of the cavity is a hydrophilic wall surface, and the sample injection hole is communicated with the cavity.
  2. 2. The sample loading chip according to claim 1, wherein the degree of hydrophilicity of the inner wall of the chamber is such that the contact angle is less than 90 °, or less than 70 °, or less than 50 °, or less than 30 °, or less than 10 °, or less than 5 °, or less than 3 °.
  3. 3. The sample chip according to claim 1, wherein the outer wall of the support member is a hydrophobic wall surface.
  4. 4. The sample loading chip according to claim 3, wherein the outer wall of the support has a hydrophilicity such that the contact angle is greater than 90 DEG, or greater than 110 DEG, or greater than 130 DEG, or greater than 150 DEG, or greater than 160 deg.
  5. 5. The sample chip according to claim 1, wherein the space between inner walls of opposite sides of the chamber in the thickness direction of the support member is S, and S is 20 nm≤S≤150 nm.
  6. 6. The sample chip according to claim 1, wherein the chamber is provided with a plurality of preparation cell regions, and the pitch of the inner walls of the opposite sides of each preparation cell region in the thickness direction of the support member is different from or the same as each other.
  7. 7. The sample loading chip according to claim 6, wherein the plurality of preparation cell regions are arranged in a straight line in order, and an arrangement direction is perpendicular to a thickness direction of the support member.
  8. 8. The sample chip according to claim 7, wherein in the arrangement direction of the preparation unit regions, the pitch of the inner walls of the preparation unit regions on opposite sides in the thickness direction of the support member is in an increasing trend or in a decreasing trend.
  9. 9. The sample chip according to claim 8, wherein for any two of the preparation cell regions adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction, the difference in the pitches of the inner walls of the opposite sides of the preparation cell region in the thickness direction of the support is 5nm to 20nm.
  10. 10. The sample loading chip according to claim 7, wherein the support further comprises a plurality of partitions provided in the chamber, the inner walls of the chamber on opposite sides in the thickness direction of the support are connected to the partitions, and each of the partitions is provided between two preparation cell regions adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction.
  11. 11. The sample loading chip according to claim 6, wherein the support member comprises a first support film and a second support film which are arranged at an opposite interval, the first support film is connected with the substrate, the second support film is positioned on one side of the first support film away from the substrate and cooperates with the first support film to form the chamber, the first support film is provided with a first observation portion, and the second support film is provided with a second observation portion which is arranged opposite to the first observation portion.
  12. 12. The sample chip according to claim 11, wherein the substrate is formed with a first hollowed-out portion, and projections of the first observation portion and the second observation portion along a thickness direction of the support member are located within a contour range of the first hollowed-out portion.
  13. 13. The sample loading chip of claim 12, wherein the first hollow portion is formed with at least two hollow regions, a reinforcing portion is disposed between any two adjacent hollow regions, and the reinforcing portion is connected to an inner wall of the first hollow portion.
  14. 14. The sample loading chip according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of first observation portions and the plurality of second observation portions are each provided corresponding to each of the preparation cell regions, and each of the plurality of second observation portions is each provided corresponding to each of the preparation cell regions.
  15. 15. The sample chip according to claim 11, wherein the first observation portion and the second observation portion are each provided in a long and narrow shape, and the widths of the first observation portion and the second observation portion are each set to 0.6 μm to 2.5 μm.
  16. 16. The sample loading chip of claim 11, wherein the first viewing portion comprises a first hole through the first support membrane and the second viewing portion comprises a second hole through the second support membrane.
  17. 17. The sample chip according to claim 16, wherein the first support film comprises a first main support portion and a first auxiliary support portion, the first auxiliary support portion is connected to the first main support portion, the first hole is provided in the first auxiliary support portion, the thickness of the first auxiliary support portion is smaller than the thickness of the first main support portion, and/or, The second support film comprises a second main support part and a second auxiliary support part, the second auxiliary support part is connected with the second main support part, the second hole is formed in the second auxiliary support part, and the thickness of the second auxiliary support part is smaller than that of the second main support part.
  18. 18. The sample loading chip according to claim 17, wherein the first main support portion is provided around a circumference of the first auxiliary support portion, and/or the second main support portion is provided around a circumference of the second auxiliary support portion.
  19. 19. The sample loading chip according to claim 17, wherein the first auxiliary support portion and the first main support portion are integrally formed, and/or the second auxiliary support portion and the second main support portion are integrally formed.
  20. 20. The sample chip according to claim 16, wherein the first observation portion further comprises a first sealing film connected to the first support film, the first sealing film being configured to seal the first hole, the first sealing film being in a transparent state under irradiation of an electron beam, and/or the second observation portion further comprises a second sealing film connected to the second support film, the second sealing film being configured to seal the second hole, the second sealing film being in a transparent state under irradiation of an electron beam.

Description

Sample loading chip Technical Field The application relates to the technical field of a refrigeration electron microscope, in particular to a sample loading chip. Background Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) is widely used in a variety of fields, both material, physical and biochemical. The sample is supported by a sample-carrying chip during transmission electron microscope observation. The sample-carrying chip generally comprises a support film, which is an amorphous thin film, and has a thickness of, for example, 20mm to 40mm. In the related art of the freeze electron microscope, a support film is generally formed with a hole where a solution carrying a sample is formed so that the sample stays in the hole, and an electron beam emitted by the transmission electron microscope passes through the sample, thereby imaging the sample. The sample loading chip in the related art generally comprises the following sample preparation modes: In the first mode, when sample preparation is carried out on a sample carrying chip, sample liquid is loaded excessively, and then the liquid on the sample carrying chip is thinned in the modes of natural volatilization thinning, plasma wind thinning, electrospray printing and the like. However, the sample thickness on the sample-carrying chip cannot be controlled effectively. In addition, the sample preparation on the sample loading chip takes more time and has lower sample preparation efficiency. In a second mode, the sample loading chip comprises a sample cavity defined by an upper film and a lower film, and the upper film and the lower film are made of transparent materials. The sample injection mode is that a pump or gas is used for driving the fluid sample to flow in the sample cavity, so that the fluid sample fills the whole sample cavity. However, in practice the fluid sample cannot be made to fill the entire sample chamber and thus the sample thickness on the sample-carrying chip cannot be controlled effectively. Disclosure of Invention Based on the above, the present application aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art, and provide a sample loading chip. The application provides a sample loading chip, comprising: Substrate; and method for producing the same The support piece is connected with the substrate, a cavity and a sample injection hole are formed in the support piece, the inner wall of the cavity is a hydrophilic wall surface, and the sample injection hole is communicated with the cavity. In one embodiment, the inner wall of the chamber is hydrophilic to such an extent that the contact angle is less than 90, or less than 70, or less than 50, or less than 30, or less than 10, or less than 5, or less than 3. In one embodiment, the outer wall of the support member is provided as a hydrophobic wall. In one embodiment, the outer wall of the support member has a degree of hydrophilicity such that the contact angle is greater than 90, or greater than 110, or greater than 130, or greater than 150, or greater than 160. In one embodiment, the spacing of the inner walls of the chamber along the opposite sides of the thickness direction of the support member is S, and S is 20 nm≤S≤150 nm. In one embodiment, the chamber is provided with a plurality of preparation unit regions, and the inner walls of the respective preparation unit regions are different from each other in the interval between the opposite side walls in the thickness direction of the support member. In one embodiment, the preparation unit regions are sequentially arranged in a straight line, and the arrangement direction is perpendicular to the thickness direction of the support member. In one embodiment, the preparation unit regions have a tendency to increase or decrease in the distance between the inner walls of the opposite sides in the thickness direction of the support member in the arrangement direction of the preparation unit regions. In one of the embodiments, for any two of the preparation unit regions adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction, the difference in the pitches of the inner walls of the opposite sides of the preparation unit region in the thickness direction of the support member is 5nm to 20nm. In one embodiment, the support member further comprises a plurality of partition portions disposed in the chamber, wherein inner walls of two opposite sides of the chamber in the thickness direction of the support member are connected with the partition portions, and each partition portion is correspondingly disposed between two preparation unit areas adjacent to each other in the arrangement direction. In one embodiment, the support member includes a first support film and a second support film disposed at opposite intervals, the first support film being connected to the substrate, the second support film being located on a side of the first support film facing away from the substrate and cooperating with the first support film to form the ch