Abstract

A Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) is used for viewing the surface and morphological details of materials. The most crucial step in preserving their ultrastructure is the fixation protocol, which depends on their conductivity properties. In this study, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) were cultured on a human amniotic membrane (HAM) scaffold. Since these two biological samples were non-conductive, this study aims to identify the coating type with suitable voltage required to distinguish SHED ultrastructural morphological changes. SHED were treated with vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for endothelial differentiation. The samples were fixed with paraformaldehyde. Gold sputtered was used because the non-coated sample, when exposed to acceleration voltage of 5 kV, resulted in a dark image, while a decrease in acceleration voltage, 2 kV, reduced the clarity of the ultrastructure. The gold-sputtered samples showed remarkable ultrastructure of the cells and scaffold. We observed ultrastructural changes of VEGF treated-SHED, presumably indicating cell differentiation. In conclusion, gold-sputtered with 5 kV voltage exposure improved the SEM images of VEGF-treated SHED cultured on HAM.