Light microscopy protects packager from fungus (Healthcare Packaging)
Light microscopy protects packager from fungus
Mary Stellmack
Healthcare Packaging – October 1, 2012
The modern analytical laboratory is equipped with an array of hi-tech instruments for analyzing and identifying samples. But sometimes, all that is needed is a visual examination under a microscope to identify an unknown material.
A pharmaceutical packager noticed faint brown stains on the edges of large rolls of coated paper stock that were stored in its warehouse. The company suspected grease or debris from the warehouse environment as the cause of the stains.
When the sample was initially examined under a low-power microscope, the brown stains were composed of globs of transparent brown material at the edge of each layer of paper (Figure 1). Near the edges, the individual sheets of paper were stained with a lighter brown color.