An easy, fast and inexpensive method of preparing a biological specimen for scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Biological samples usually require cumbersome preparation steps before SEM imaging. Here we propose a simple, fast and inexpensive method to prepare and visualize biological cell culture samples in a few easy steps. We have tested this method with success on several adherent breast cancer and non-adherent leukemia cell lines. This method gives results comparable to other well-established techniques, and it can be convenient in day-to-day biological sample preparation for SEM imaging. • An easy and rapid method to visualize biological specimens under SEM. • Cells are grown on carbon tapes and gold coated. • Air drying without compromising the image quality.