The application and limitations of the SEM-EDS method in food and textile technologies

Abstract

Compared to other methods of investigation, the scanning electron microscopyenergy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS) method is significantly less frequently used in the study of the samples related to food and textile technologies. Food scientists most commonly use the SEM-EDS method to investigate the starch morphology of different plants as differences in the size and shape of starch granules may be attributed to the biological origin and physiology of the plant. In addition, these researchers manipulate the starch structure and control the interactions between starch and other food components to determine its effect on the rate of digestion. In textile technology, researchers use the SEM-EDS method to investigate contemporary antimicrobial textiles to assess their possible use in medical equipment as the means to avoid the spread of microbes. SEM-EDS method is often used for the purpose of biodeterioration in the study of historical textiles which have been colonized by microorganisms. However, the inability to analyze wet samples is the main limitation of the SEM-EDS method in the investigation of food samples. This limitation can be partially overcome by studying wet samples under low vacuum conditions, or by creating a non-conventional cross-section of fresh samples which, when covered with a gold layer, can be investigated under high vacuum conditions. Textile samples cannot be polished, which limits the use of this method in obtaining a quantitative chemical analyses. New possibilities of applying the SEM-EDS method in the investigation of food and textile samples should be considered because some limitations of this method can be partially exceeded.