Fei quanta 200 instrument

After incubation (24 and 72 h) and before the NR uptake test, the cell morphology was evaluated by optical microscopy (Leitz, Germania). Cell observation includes the evaluation of the presence of intracytoplasmatic granules, cell lysis, reduction of cell growth, all morphological parameters, which indicate a change from the normal morphology of cells. The adhesion of the cells to the surface of glasses was also verified using scanning electron microscopy by a FEI Quanta 200 Instrument (Fei Company, Eindhoven, The Netherlands), equipped with an INCA 350 EDS apparatus (Oxford Instruments, Abingdon, UK).

After soaking, images of the surfaces of the different glasses were collected in order to gain the morphological and elemental characterizations of the surfaces and to determine if there were detectable apatite-like areas. The morphological and elemental analyses were carried out by means of ESEM-EDS using a FEI Quanta 200 Instrument (Fei Company, Eindhoven, The Netherlands), equipped with an INCA 350 EDS apparatus (Oxford Instruments, Abingdon, UK); EDS analyses were performed over three different areas of the sample surface and the maximum value of standard deviation (SD) was 0.5%.