Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) has been used to probe biological samples such as proteins, human-saliva and human-serum. Protein images show detailed features such as size and morphology of individual BSA (bovine serum albumin) molecule, emphasizing its oblate ellipsoid (14 nm x 4 nm) structure. Human-saliva being a non-invasive biological fluid is an attractive alternative of serum for many purposes such as biomarker studies. Cryo-TEM reveals a variety of structures in whole human saliva (WHS), which includes globular mcelles (~5nm), vesicles (~100nm) and huge clusters of micelles (~100-500nm). Images of human-serum have features ranging from globular proteins and circular-discs to highly polydisperse unilamellar vesicles and multilamellar vesicles. One special feature that has been observed in serum is in the shape of a semicircular arc joined with a circular object. Cryo-TEM has been found to provide enough details to be a viable tool for studying biological samples at nanoscale resolution and may be potentially useful in drug efficacy testing and biomarker applications.

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