Artefacts in Conventional Scanning Electron Microscopy of Some Milk Products

Authors

Miloslav Kalab

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Abstract

Artefacts develop due to changes in the microstructure of the sample under study because of inappropriate preparatory steps and/or due to distortion of the images of properly prepared samples during operation of the microscope. Of a wide variety of possible artefacts. only those occurring mast frequently have been selected and ilustrated with micrographs. In milk powders, the most common artefacts are the recrystallization of lactose in a humid atmosphere, "1 ine" and "dark-area" charging artefacts, and electron beam damage. In moist milk products, artefacts may arise at any preparatory step, such as sampling, fixation, dehydration and critical-point drying or freezing and freezedrying, mounting, metal coating, and microscopical examination. Images of the same subjects with artefacts either present or reduced to a minimum are compared and measures to avoid the development of the artefacts are suggested.

Recommended Citation

Kalab, Miloslav (1984) "Artefacts in Conventional Scanning Electron Microscopy of Some Milk Products," Food Structure: Vol. 3: No. 2, Article 2.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/foodmicrostructure/vol3/iss2/2