| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and quickly conduct the quality control of yeast for production of alcoholic drinks, brewing, bakery, etc., by counting the number of the germination traces of germinated yeast by observing their surfaces using a scanning probe microscope capable of observing the surfaces in the atmosphere and by evaluating the activity of the yeast based on the number of the germination traces. SOLUTION: Using a scanning probe microscope having ability to conduct observation in the atmosphere such as an atomic force microscope, a cantilever several hundredsμm long having a sharp probe on the tip is brought in close proximity to the surface of germinated yeast to detect the interatomic force acting on the cantilever in terms of the deflection of the cantilever. A sample, i.e., yeast dried on a glass plate and being in culture or thawed yeast which had been preserved in a frozen state is scanned by a scanner in high accuracy in a three-dimensional way to trace the fine texture of the surface of the sample by the cantilever to count the number of germination traces to easily and quickly evaluate the activity of the yeast based on the number of the germination traces per one yeast cell, thus conducting the objective quality control of the yeast. |
