Confocal scanning laser microscopy as a tool for the determination of 3D floc structure

Several assumptions are made when confocal scanning laser microscopy is use d for the determination of the fractal dimension of aggregates, The purpose of this study is to experimentally show that one of these assumptions, whi ch concerns the relation existing between the structure of an aggregate and that of its sections, is valid. A comparison between the structures of sec tions and reconstructed 3D edifices of latex aggregates shows that they are both directly related even in the case of relatively small aggregates. (C) 1999 Academic Press.