Imaging of the microstructure of wheat dough by the complementary rendering of data from x-ray computed tomography and confocal laser scanning microscopy

Outline

K. Mathmann, V. Bürger, B. Fröhler, C. Heinzl, J. Kastner - Imaging of the microstructure of wheat dough by the complementary rendering of data from x-ray computed tomography and confocal laser scanning microscopy - 30th EFFoST International Conference, Vienna, Austria, 2016, pp. 1

Abstract

The porous structure of wheat dough and bread is a major quality parameter of the product. We know that the performance of the gluten network significantly contributes to the desired microstructure. However, the precise mechanisms are unclear yet as there is a lack in understanding the composition of the structural elements and their interactions. The current study aims at giving insight by means of imaging. For our analysis, we prepared freeze-dried wheat-dough samples stained with Rhodamine B. These samples were measured by both X-ray Computed Tomography and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy. The X-ray Computed Tomography delivers data on the full threedimensional structure of the sample. The Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy represents the framework of the protein network in a small subsurface area. These complementary imaging data of the identical samples were simultaneously rendered by means of the self-developed software iAnalyse. As a result we obtained three-dimensional images ready for the simultaneous analyses of both modalities. They represent the full structure as well as the the protein network (figure 1). This will allow us to contribute to the overall understanding of the structural mechanisms in wheat doughs and the interactions of the different structural elements.