Conventional preparation techniques as used in electron microscopy have been used to separate chloroplasts. While still in a buffer solution they have been electrochemically deposited on a gold substrate. Scanning tunneling microscope images of the grana and lamellae of spinach chloroplasts have been found to be consistent with evidence from electron microscopy of their external structure. Possible contact sites, where proteins are imported selectively into the membrane, have been observed, some supporting linear molecular chains approximately 10 nm long.