Agar Scientific, a leading supplier of microscopy accessories and consumables, reports on the SMART Grids^TM for TEM work developed and manufactured by Dune Sciences.

Agar Scientific is a market leader in the supply of high quality accessories to assist with sample handling for the microscopy market serving a very broad range of application areas.

Successful Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) depends upon the quality of the specimen prepared and the ability to successfully reproduce samples for analysis. Until recently, "success" was a relative term and an elusive target. Conventional TEM grids could work but it was often a cumbersome process resulting in a lack confidence in the results.

Dune Sciences produces a complete line of unique grids and protocols available for materials science and biological specimen preparation. These new chemically functionalized grids, called SMART Grids^TM offer an unparalleled, repeatable, and reproducible platform for preparation and dynamic experimentation of nanoparticles and biomolecules.

Speaking about the use of SMART Grids, James E Hutchinson, PhD, Lokey-Harrington Chair in Chemistry, 2009 at the University of Oregon and Co-Founder of Dune Sciences, says "We can't do our research without SMART Grids. In my lab, we use green methods to design and synthesize functional nanomaterials. Our end goal is to formulate useful engineered nanoparticles, and developing rapid and detailed characterization protocols is essential to our research. SMART TEM Grids were created to enable dynamic experiments to be performed with fast, accurate, reproducible and quantitative results."

This has recently been backed up with a peer reviewed paper in ACS Nano, 2011, 5 (11), pp 8950-8957, DOI:10.1021/nn2031319. Using SMART Grids, researchers at the University of Oregon developed a method to directly observe microscopic changes in nanoparticles over time. They were able to monitor transformations in size, shape and distribution over a few hours, especially when exposed to humidity, water and light. These findings showed that nanoparticle 'size' may not be static, especially when particles are on surfaces.

For further details of Dune Sciences products along with Agar's complete range of accessories and consumables for microscopy, please ask for a copy of the latest catalogue and price list. To receive your free copy, please visit www.agarscientific.com and register today. Agar Scientific will also be exhibiting at emc2012, Manchester, September 17-21st. Visit their stand #713 to meet staff and look at a selection of Agar's broad product range.