Skip to main content
Fig. 1 | Particle and Fibre Toxicology

Fig. 1

From: Revisiting the paradigm of silica pathogenicity with synthetic quartz crystals: the role of crystallinity and surface disorder

Fig. 1

FE-SEM imaging of n-Qz-syn, μ-Qz-syn, μ-Qz-syn-f, and Qz-f (a, b, c, and d, respectively) and HR-TEM imaging of as-grown (n-Qz-syn) and fractured (μ-Qz-syn-f) samples (e and f, respectively). Flat, well-formed, smooth surfaces characterized as-grown quartz (a and b), while conchoidal fractures (arrow) were visible on ground particles (c and d). Crystal structure was preserved up to the very last atomic boundary of the synthetic crystal (e), while fracturing induced partial disorganization of crystal lattice (absence of diffraction fringes) and loss of long-range ordered crystalline planes (f, arrows)

Back to article page

Particle and Fibre Toxicology

ISSN: 1743-8977

Contact us