Espresso produced a clear contrast, in some cases matching or outperforming standard methods. The commonly used alternative, uranyl acetate, is toxic and radioactive. The findings suggest that espresso could provide a safer and low-cost alternative for microscopy research.

Credits: Unsplash; Author: jkoblitz;

The research was published in the scientific journal Methods. Further testing is needed to assess the method’s use across different types of biological samples.