Microscopy - visualization of the structure of the material

Using microscopy on different length scales, you gain a greater understanding of how your material or product is structured and why it has certain properties.

Fat droplets in hand cream visualized with DIC (Differential Interference Contrast) in the light microscope and microorganisms attached to the cavities of a rough titanium surface visualized with confocal microscopy

At RISE, there is extensive knowledge about on how materials defined as "soft materials", i.e. products and raw materials for food and pharmaceuticals, wound care and hygiene products, and bio-based packaging materials, etc., can be imaged with microscopy.

We use different techniques such as electron, confocal and light microscopy, X-ray tomography, scanning electron microscopy, confocal Raman microscopy, TOF-SIMS and AFM both to be able to study different length scales but also because different techniques are more advantageous than others in visualizing specific components inside the materials. In addition, we have extensive experience in how different materials should be prepared (fixation, embedding, sectioning, labeling/staining, etc.) to preserve the structure and avoid the formation of artifacts and equipment for preparation (cryostat, freeze substitution, vapor fixation, freeze etching, plastic embedding, ultramicrotome for thin sectioning, plunge freezing, mica technique). We analyze at different length scales and study dynamic processes/time-dependent phenomena directly under the microscopes.