Scientists talked about the use of coffee in electron microscopy

Scientists at the Technical University of Graz have proposed using regular coffee as an alternative to traditional contrast media in the preparation of biological samples for electron microscopy. This was reported on January 8 by the news portal Phys.org .

In electron microscopy, tissues are pre-treated with special dyes so that their structures are clearly distinguishable in the images. Uranyl acetate remains the standard substance for these purposes, but it has high toxicity and radioactivity, which is why its use is prohibited in a number of laboratories.

A team from the Graz Institute of Electron Microscopy and Nanoanalysis (FELMI-ZFE) has proposed an environmentally friendly alternative — coffee. Experiments have shown that the images of espresso-treated samples are not inferior in quality to those prepared using uranyl acetate.

"I came up with the idea to use espresso as a dye after paying attention to the characteristic circular traces of dried coffee in the cups," said Claudia Mayrhofer, responsible for ultramicrotomy at the Technical University of Graz.

According to her, the first tests confirmed that coffee really colors biological samples and enhances contrast. Initial tests have shown that coffee stains enhance the visibility of structures, Mayrhofer explained.

As part of the work, the scientists compared the effectiveness of espresso and uranyl acetate on ultrathin sections of mitochondria treated under the same conditions. The quality of the images was assessed using specialized software.

"Espresso showed comparable, and in some cases even higher contrast values than uranyl acetate," Mayrhofer noted.

Ilse Letofsky-Papst, head of the research group, emphasized that the data obtained indicate the potential of coffee as a serious alternative to uranyl acetate, however, additional studies involving other types of tissues are needed for its widespread use in electron microscopy in the life sciences.

Australian scientists have been monitoring the elderly for 10 years and found that regular tea consumption is associated with higher bone density, while excess coffee, on the contrary, can reduce it.

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