Su8020 sem

The synthetic Fe₃O₄, Fe₃O₄@CS, and CtFC obtained under the optimal surface coating parameters were selected for physical characterization. Scanning electron microscopy images and energy dispersive spectrometry (EDS) of samples were recorded on a SU8020 SEM (Hitachi, Japan) at an accelerating voltage of 15.0 kV. A vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM; model 7410, United States) was used to examine the magnetic properties with a magnetic field from 30 to −30 kOe at room temperature. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were performed on a TGA/DSC1/1600HT analyzer (Mettler-Toledo, Switzerland) in air to determine the thermal stability of the samples. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectra of the samples were recorded on a Spectrum GX instrument (Perkin-Elmer, United States) in the wave number range of 4000–500 cm^–1 at RT. The powder X-ray diffraction patterns were recorded on a X’pert Pro MPD diffractometer (PANalytical, Netherlands) to study the crystal structure of the samples. The crystallite size of Fe₃O₄ was calculated in Jade software, using the Scherrer equation:
where the Scherrer constant K is 0.89, B is the full width at half maximum of the sharp peaks, γ is the wavelength of X-ray diffraction, and θ is the measured diffraction angle (Vinila et al., 2014 (link)).

The microstructure of the IPC-DNV-TSG was observed using an SU8020 SEM (Hitachi, Tokyo, Japan). Briefly, 3 mL of the IPC-DNV-TSG was placed in a 10-mL glass vial and freeze-dried until it achieved a constant weight. The dried gel was sliced and sprayed gold on the cross-section, and the surface topography was observed under different magnifications.

Cells were collected and fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde (Solarbio, Beijing, China) at 4 °C overnight for SEM preparation. After rinsing with PBS and sterile water, the cells were dehydrated using an ethanol gradient. The samples were coated with gold after critical point drying. Pictures were obtained using a Hitachi SU8020 SEM (Tokyo, Japan).

After exposure to GrA or Sal for 24 h at 37 °C, the external morphological changes in pancreatic cancer cells were observed using SEM and the ultrastructural changes in pancreatic cancer cells were observed using TEM. For the preparation of pancreatic cancer cells for SEM and TEM, cells were collected and fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde (Solarbio, Cat. P1126, Beijing, China) at 4 °C overnight. Fixed cells were rinsed with PBS and sterile water followed by dehydration through an ethanol gradient. After critical point drying, the samples were coated with gold and electron micrographs were obtained using the Hitachi SU8020 SEM (Tokyo, Japan). Similarly, for TEM, cells were collected as mentioned above, and the samples were embedded in Epon and sectioned with an ultramicrotome. Ultrastructural changes in the cells were observed using the Hitachi JEM-1200EX TEM (Tokyo, Japan).

The mean pore size and pore size distribution of the ceramic membranes were measured by a membrane aperture tester (3H-2000PB, Beijing Bester Instrument Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing, China). The porosity was determined according to Archimedes’ principle with the detailed procedure shown in [20 (link)]. The surface morphology of original and fouled ceramic membranes was observed by a scanning electron microscope (Hitachi SU8020 SEM, Tokyo, Japan). The phase crystal structure of the ceramic membrane was assessed by X-ray diffraction (D8 Discover, Bruker AXS, Karlsruhe, Germany).

To investigate the effect of EFAs on the morphology of VRE-fm cells, the strain V27 incubated with DHA was selected for SEM imaging. Strain V27 at a final concentration about 7.5×10⁵ CFU/mL was incubated with and without 1 mM DHA for 1 h with shaking at 35°C. The samples were fixed in 2.5% glutaraldehyde for 5 h at 4°C, then were dehydrated in a sequential-graded ethanol (30%, 50%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and 100%), and then two times with 100% ethanol for 15 min. Finally, the samples were sputter coated with gold, followed by microscopic examinations by using a SU8020 SEM (Hitachi, Japan) (Rani et al., 2022 (link)).