QUANTIFOIL ®–Holey
Carbon Films
QUANTIFOIL R 1.2/1.3 
QUANTIFOIL ® is
a perforated support foil with pre-defined hole size, shape and arrangement.
It has advantages in electron microscopy (EM) or low-energy electron point
source (LEEPS) microscopy when compared with conventional holey film.
QUANTIFOIL ® is offered with circular and square, orthogonal arranged holes. Films with different hole sizes and bar widths are available. Carbon is the standard material that makes the foil.
QUANTIFOIL® is a superior quality of holey carbon film, which facilitates the use of automation in TEM. (The Imaging Technology Group of Dr. Bridget Carrageen, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has developed a system, called Legion, for automatically acquiring images from a transmission electron microscope)
QUANTIFOIL R 2/2 
QUANTIFOIL ® with
circular holes is used in cryo-electron tomographic reconstruction. The
roundness of the holes is advantageous with respect to the formation of
an ice layer of constant thickness. The whole size chosen depends on the
magnification used, and on whether or not one wishes to include support
film in the image. Assessment of the image quality is easier when foil
is included in the picture, because the power spectrum of a foil is stronger
than that of unsupported ice.
The surface properties of QUANTIFOIL® holey carbon support film, especially the wetting properties, may have to be adapted according to one’s particular requirements. Untreated aging QUANTIFOIL® tends to be hydrophobic. Hydrophillicity of the foil can be achieved by glow discharging in residual air or by metal coating.
QUANTIFOIL® in low-energy electron point source (LEEPS) microscopy. Quantifoil® with a regular pattern is required in order to be able to distinguish an object, which is spanned over a hole. An object cannot be discriminated from the support in the case of conventional holey support film. (H.W. Fink & C. Schonenberger, University of Basel, used QUANTIFOIL® for the measurement of electrical current through DNA molecules.)
The foil is ~12 nm thick and mounted on either copper, nickel or gold grids with either square or round holes of different sizes.
Holey films with 2µ round holes are used at magnifications between 30,000x and 40,000x.
 QUANTIFOIL® R 2/4 may be preferred over R 2/2, when an increased tolerance with respect to the position of beam, and a larger beam diameter are desired, such as in the case of automated image acquisition. |
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| QUANTIFOIL® R 2/1 has more open area than R 2/2. It is used when focusing is carried out on the edge of a hole burnt in the ice in a neighboring hole instead of on the foil adjacent to the hole. |
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QUANTIFOIL® with square holes and relatively narrow bars can be used in EM to support a thin carbon film, which by itself is too fragile to span a grid square. Alternatively, this holey film can directly support an object that is larger than the holes. |
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QUANTIFOIL® S 7/2 constitutes an optimum between a maximum of open area on the one hand, and mechanical stability on the other hand. |
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| QUANTIFOIL® Multi A is a holey film, which consists of various pattern hole sizes, shapes and arrangements is repeated. In addition to round holes, the pattern includes oval-shaped ones, which appear round at high tilt angles (~70°). The diameters of the round holes are about 1, 1.4 and 2µ, and the bar widths range from 0.5 to 4µ. The oval holes in the foil have a dimension of 8 x 2µ and 4 x 1µ |
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Ordering Information:
QUANTIFOIL® is generally delivered as a carbon foil; it can be reinforced with plastic film. The standard thickness for the carbon foil is 12 nm; other thicknesses between 10 and 25 nm can be made upon request.
QUANTIFOIL® is supplied with 200 mesh copper, nickel or gold grids. Other meshes are also available upon request as a special order. All special orders are made available within two to three weeks, and the quantity is a minimum of 100 grids or multiples of 100.
| Cat. # | Hole Shape | Hole Size | Period | 200 mesh Grid Type |
Pack | Price | |
| Q225-CS7 | S7/2 | 7x7µ | 9µ | Copper | 25/pk. | 180.00 |  |
| Q250-CS7 | S7/2 | 7x7µ | 9µ | Copper | 50/pk. | 325.00 | |
| Q225-NS7 | S7/2 | 7x7µ | 9µ | Nickel | 25/pk. | 200.00 | |
| Q250-NS7 |
S7/2 | 7x7µ | 9µ | Nickel | 50/pk. | 375.00 | |
| Q225-AS7 | S7/2 | 7x7µ | 9µ | Gold | 25/pk. | 205.00 | |
| Q250-AS7 | S7/2 | 7x7µ | 9µ | Gold | 50/pk. | 400.00 | |
| Q225-CR1 | R2/1 | 2µ | 3µ | Copper | 25/pk. | 180.00 | |
| Q250-CR1 | R2/1 | 2µ | 3µ | Copper | 50/pk. | 325.00 | |
| Q225-NR1 | R2/1 | 2µ | 3µ | Nickel | 25/pk. | 200.00 | |
| Q250-NR1 | R2/1 | 2µ | 3µ | Nickel | 50/pk. | 375.00 | |
| Q225-AR1 | R2/1 | 2µ | 3µ | Gold | 25/pk. | 205.00 | |
| Q250-AR1 | R2/1 | 2µ | 3µ | Gold | 50/pk. | 400.00 | |
| Q225-CR2 | R2/2 | 2µ | 4µ | Copper | 25/pk. | 180.00 | |
| Q250-CR2 | R2/2 | 2µ | 4µ | Copper | 50/pk. | 325.00 | |
| Q225-NR2 | R2/2 | 2µ | 4µ | Nickel | 25/pk. | 200.00 | |
| Q250-NR2 | R2/2 | 2µ | 4µ | Nickel | 50/pk. | 375.00 | |
| Q225-AR2 | R2/2 | 2µ | 4µ | Gold | 25/pk. | 205.00 | |
| Q250-AR2 | R2/2 | 2µ | 4µ | Gold | 50/pk. | 400.00 | |
| Q225-CR4 | R2/4 | 2µ | 6µ | Copper | 25/pk. | 180.00 | |
| Q250-CR4 | R2/4 | 2µ | 6µ | Copper | 50/pk. | 325.00 | |
| Q225-NR4 | R2/4 | 2µ | 6µ | Nickel | 25/pk. | 200.00 | |
| Q250-NR4 | R2/4 | 2µ | 6µ | Nickel | 50/pk. | 375.00 | |
| Q225-CR1.3 |
R1.2/1.3 |
~1.2µ |
2.5µ |
Copper | 25/pk. | 180.00 | |
| Q250-CR1.3 | R1.2/1.3 |
~1.2µ |
2.5µ |
Copper | 50/pk. | 325.00 | |
| Q225-NR1.3 | R1.2/1.3 |
~1.2µ |
2.5µ |
Nickel | 25/pk. | 200.00 | |
| Q250-NR1.3 |
R1.2/1.3 |
~1.2µ |
2.5µ |
Nickel | 50/pk. | 375.00 | |
| Q225-CMA | Multi A | – | – | Copper | 25/pk. |
180.00 | |
| Q250-CMA | Multi A | – | – | Copper | 50/pk. | 325.00 | |
| Q225-NMA | Multi A | – | – | Nickel | 25/pk. | 180.00 | |
| Q250-NMA | Multi A | – | – | Nickel | 50/pk. | 375.00 | |
