Table 1.

Comparison of the layer thicknesses on the different precoated substrates before embedding in the epoxy resin and after the freeze fracture measured with IE. (The layer thickness of the control (8 nm) corresponded to the thickness of the SiO₂ on top of the substrates. The errors for the thickness values were obtained from n=5–10 different areas (area size: 10×10 μm² to 25×25 μm²) and four independent substrates for each layer preparation.)

substrate coating	PLL	PDL	ECM	FIB	Con-A	LAM	control
total layer thickness before embedding (nm)	11.3±2.3	11.1±1.9	13.5±3.7	12.6±1.9	11.0±0.8	9.2±0.4	8.0±0.2
protein layer thickness (nm)	3.3±2.3	3.1±1.9	5.5±3.7	4.6±1.9	3.0±0.8	1.2±0.4	0
total layer thickness after freeze fracture (nm)	7.3±0.5	7.9±0.8	12.0±0.7	8.8±0.5	8.8±0.2	6.8±0.2	8.5±0.1
cleaved layer thickness (nm)	4.0±2.6	3.2±2.1	1.5±3.8	3.8±2.0	2.2±0.8	2.4±0.4	−0.5±0.2