Link to Pubmed [PMID] – 18793481
Link to DOI – 10.1017/S1431927608080781
Microsc Microanal 2008 Oct; 14(5): 375-9
The use of an alkane mixture that remains liquid at 77 K to freeze specimens has advantages over the use of a pure alkane that is solid at 77 K. It was found that a mixture of methane and ethane did not give a cooling rate adequate to produce vitreous ice, but a mixture of propane and ethane did result in vitreous ice. Furthermore, the latter mixture produced less damage to specimens mounted on a very thin, fragile holey carbon substrate.