111. Abstract
The lattice imaging technique for cellulose,
a typical electron-beam-sensitive material, was developed by using
a conventional 120 kV electron microscope. Routine procedures
for specimen preparation and high resolution, low dose electron
microscopy are described in detail. A new, simple method was
introduced for the preparation of a Formvar micronet to support
the thin carbon film. The lattice imaging technique was successfully
applied to algal celluloses as well as bacterial cellulose, which
is composed of much smaller crystallites than the former. Digital
image processing was found to be effective in enhancing the lattice
images. The bacterial cellulose ribbon contained crystallites
10-25-nm wide, which is much greater than the basic unit of cellulose
fibril extruded from the cell surface. This shows that unit fibrils
can fasciate with each other, merging into a single crystallite.