The aim of this study was to report the first discussion of statistical parameters and possible applications related to the surface of kefir biofilms prepared with Maytenus rigida Mart. extract through micromorphology, using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Four different samples were produced. The reference contained demerara sugar with a concentration of 40 g/L and the others had added extract whose concentrations were 0.25, 0.50, and 0.75 g/L, respectively. AFM was used to image the surface in tapping mode, on square areas of 30 μm × 30 μm. Images were studied by the MountainsMap premium commercial software. The main parameter of the surface, roughness, grew with the increase of the extract concentration up to 0.50 g/L. In addition, asymmetry and kurtosis showed that the biofilm with the best peak distribution was the one with 0.25 g/L of plant extract. The other parameters followed the main results for the surface and were observed for the depth and volume parameters. The power spectrum density spectrum confirmed the reliability of the results for the sample with 0.25 g/L. Therefore, the sample with 0.25 g/L of plant extract produced the best balance in relation to the surface properties. These results showed that the biofilm morphology and microtexture were affected by the incorporation of the plant extract and can be useful to define possible applications.

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Leaves surfaces have various structures with specific functions and contribute to the relationship with the environment. On morphological studies are analyzed various parameters, ranging from macro scale through the micro scale to the nanometer scale, which contribute to the study of taxonomy, pharmacognosy, and ecology, among others. Functional structures found in leaves are responsible for the wide variety of surfaces and some behaviors are given in terms of cellular adaptation and the presence or absence of wax. This study reports the characterization of Anacardium occidentale L. leaf surface and the techniques used therein. A set of scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) images performed on fresh leaf allowed observation of textured and heterogeneous profiles on both sides. SCANNING 38:329-335, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

This work applies stereometric parameters and fractal theory to characterize the structural complexity of the 3D surface roughness of Anacardium occidentale L. leaf using atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements. Surface roughness was studied by AFM in tapping mode, in air, on square areas of 6,400 and 10,000 μm2. The stereometric analyses using MountainsMap Premium and WSXM software provided detailed information on the 3D surface topography of the samples. These data showed that the morphology of the abaxial and adaxial side of the cashew leaf is different, which was also observed in relation to their microtextures. Fractal analysis showed that the adaxial and abaxial sides have strong microtexture homogeneity, but the adaxial side presented higher surface entropy. These results show that image processing associated with fractal theory can be an indispensable tool for identifying plant species by their leaves because this species has singularities on each side of the leaf.