Preservation of gelatin-based phantom material using vinegar and its life-span study for application in microwave imaging

Gelatin-based material can be used in phantom modeling for microwave imaging applications, but unfortunately, this type of phantom has a short life span. Formaldehyde has been used previously to preserve gelatin-based material, but it might be hazardous. This paper presents a life-span study for gelatin-based material that has been preserved by vinegar in different amounts, observed through the conducted dielectric measurement from 1 GHz to 6 GHz. The Debye parameters are derived to define a Debye relaxation model of the acid contents in a solution of water and vinegar. The study is then focused on dielectric trends prior to and after the addition of different amounts of vinegar into a gelatin-based material. The life-span study concentrates on changes in the sample's dielectric properties over a storage period of six weeks. The obtained findings in this study are useful to validate the suitability of vinegar to be used as preservative in gelatin-based material for microwave imaging purposes.