Volume 17, Issue 3 (May 2003)

As a first step towards the development of experimental nanomechanics inside the scanning electron microscope, we show that the reliable electroluminescence assessment of nanoscale stress fields can be obtained in glasses, taking advantage of the high spectral selectivity of lanthanide ion probes 'installed' within the glass network...

Environmentally controlled optical microscopy is an invaluable tool enabling direct visualisation of pharmaceutical solids under varied humidity profiles. The novel VGI environmental optical microscope stage was used to observe the crystallisation of amorphous salbutamol sulphate as a function of humidity and time...

In this paper, we highlight two examples of the application of environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM) to polymer fibre technology. In one example, concerning polypropylene fibre wetting behaviour, the profiles of water droplets located on the fibres can be clearly observed...

Although the phase contrast technique is widespread in optical microscopy, phase contrast in transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has not been widely adopted. We show here that a simple method for quantitative TEM phase microscopy is possible...

The evaluation of solitary thyroid nodules often constitutes a diagnostic problem. The aim of this study was to observe the morphology of C cells and their consequent possible alterations in normal thyroid tissue adjacent to benign and malignant lesions of the gland...

Scanning electron microscopy was used to analyze the morphology of yarn defects produced during the processing of cotton contaminated with stickiness. Analysis of SEM micrographs of the yarn defects revealed that cotton fibers within a defect were included in a matrix of amorphous substance acting like a glue, thus interfering with the drawing process during yarn formation...