Review: Confocal scanning laser microscopy. A powerful tool in food science Revision: Microscopía láser confocal de barrido. Una potente herramienta en la ciencia de los alimentos

Abstract

Confocal scanning laser microscopy (CSLM) is a recently developed light microscopy technique which permits observation of selected levels within thick samples. CSLM improves the resolution along the viewing axis and permits optical sectioning of the sample. Sample preparation is not time consuming and changes the original structure of the specimen only minimally. In this way structures involved in kinetic processes of food materials exposed to external stress situations can be visualized. In this review the contributions of CSLM to improving the understanding of various processes in different fields of food science are discussed. The fundamentals of the operations required are considered, including a discussion of common laser sources and different kinds of fluorescent dyes. Attention is paid to the peculiarities of sample preparation, as well as to the possibilities of image processing in order to improve and analyze the images collected. The quantitative analysis of plant organizations and cellular structures in plant material by CSLM is reported as well as the use of CSLM to image the structure of emulsions of different complexity and to locate microorganisms in a wide range of food products.