Consistence

Advanced imaging and microstructure research laboratory.

Who we are

Consistence is an independent Microstructure Research Laboratory, founded in 2018. Our Laboratory hosts a rich variety of advanced microscopy methodologies, including Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CSLM), all kinds of Light Microscopy (LM), and Rheometry.

A unique expertise available in our lab is cryo-planing SEM. This method enables to obtain high resolution cross-sections through any hydrated material, such as plants, animals, foods, cosmetics, soft matter, biofilms, paints, etc. Very often, cryoplaning SEM provides the best opportunity to get insight in the internal structure of wet materials.

But our most important assets are expertise and commitment to our customers, finding answers to their research questions, irrespective of the great instruments we have in house. 

Our services range from a single analyses and consultancy to full research projects, depending on the individual demands and internal research capacity of our customers. We support requests for advanced imaging as well as open questions with a ‘structure-function’ challenge.

The Consistence Office

The Consistence approach

Consistence has the tools to visualise, understand, and compare the microstructure of almost any material. The wide range of microscopical instruments and methods available at Consistence are the right kit for a straightforward approach to study even difficult and formerly impossible visualisations and measurements of structures in the range of 1 meter down to 10 nanometer, thus spanning 8 orders of magnitude. Experience and origin of the lab have led to great insight into microstructure research of wet, delicate, and soft matter.

For an overview of available instruments, please contact us.

Team

Face Mask once more

Customers at Consistence benefit from a rich combination of different imaging methodologies. And in most cases, we apply different methodologies, to reveal the various secrets of the microstructures. Here a face mask sheet, covering the filter material is shown with different light microscopic methodologies (left images) and with Scanning Electron Microscopy (right images). While one […]

Launch of SeeCHEESE project

Consistence and 3 partner companies (FrieslandCampina and 2 others) have started mapping the structure of CHEESE at all length scales, to compile the scattered knowledge of cheese microstructure. ELINE HOEDEMAKER and JANNES VAN DEN BAAR will study several cheeses with advanced imaging methods that complement each other (CLSM, SEM, cryofixed, chemfixed, etc). Combining their findings […]

Students visiting Consistence

This week we were happy to receive a group of students from VWO 5 Wartburg College, location Guido de Bres. They are orienting on further education and their future job. They visited our lab based on their interest in technology and research. In addition to a presentation by Consistence and its staff, they received a […]

Face mask cross section

In an earlier post we visualised a planar view of a face mask filter at increasing magnification, showing a heterogeneous network of fibres. It is not trivial to obtain high resolution cross sections through fabric: sub-micron (less than 1/1000 millimetre) details cannot be obtained with light microscopy or x-ray imaging, while sections of embedded material […]

Fat crystal network

Already in 1987 Isaac Heertje published a method to visualise the fat crystal network in margarines. We now have revisited this method, making it available for today’s research of crystal networks in foods and beyond. The images show fat crystal networks in a 39% fat spread and in a 79% fat margarine, revealing continuous networks […]

Contact us

To visit our laboratory, send a sample or learn what we can do for you.