Surface and colloid chemical aspects of saliva particle interactions

Sections of flash-frozen saliva particle mixture were examined by transmission electron microscopy. The saliva samples used consisted of 40% by volume parotid and 60% by volume submandibular sublingual fractions. One mL of the saliva was mixed with 0.1 mL of either hydrophilic or hydrophobic particles of 0.9 microns diameter. The micrographs of the saliva and hydrophilic particles mixes showed the multiple spherical particles in the salivary network structures. Micrographs of the saliva and hydrophilic particle mixes showed the presence of few such objects; when observed, the particles were located only in the electron dense part of the salivary structures.