Figure 3.

Negative stain EM of phospholipid vesicles (white arrows) mixed with latex spheres (black arrows), negatively stained with a, 2% UAc and b, 2% phospho tungstic acid and schematically visualised with a side‐ and topview (c). Negatively stained objects appear light with a dark halo (arrows). During preparation some sample ended up on the other side of the support grid and was not stained as the UAc solution was only applied to the top of the grid.39 Both liposomes and latex are therefore stained and unstained in this image. The unstained liposomes cannot be seen and may be responsible for the contrast differences in the background. The unstained latex (arrow heads) is amorphous, but appears to have some structure inside, this is in fact the imprint into the carbon support film. A similar effect can be sometimes observed in ice contamination. Stained latex can be interpreted as being hollow, but it is not, which becomes clear from the unstained latex. Notice that the intensity of stained and unstained latex is exactly the same. Uranyl acetate crystals deposited on negatively stained liposome sample (d). In absence of sample the crystals can be mistaken for it. Scale bars represent 100 nm.