Evo 40xvp

For scanning electron microscopy, the water from the samples was evaporated and the dry PM was covered with platinum using a turbo-pumped sputter coater Q150T (Quorum Technologies, Lewes, United Kingdom). The collected PM were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Morphology of PM was evaluated by SEM using Zeiss EVO 40XVP (Zeiss, Oberkochen, Germany) with an energy dispersive spectrometer INCA Energy (Oxford Instruments, Abingdon, United Kingdom) and Hitachi S-3400N (Hitachi, Tokio, Japan) with an energy dispersive spectrometer Ultra Dry (Thermo Fisher Scientific, Waltham, USA). Two microscopes were used to differentiate the size of collected Me NP.

Microscopic examinations were performed using a scanning electronic microscope Zeiss EVO-40XVP (ZEISS, Jena, Germany) supplied with the systems of energy dispersive microanalysis and inverted electron diffraction.
The crystal structure of the samples was analyzed by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), for which a DRON-4-07 X-ray Diffractometer (Bourevestnik JSC, Saint Petersburg, Russia) was used. Irradiating lamps with a copper anode and Ni-filter were used. The studies were carried out in the range of 2Θ from 4 to 360°.
The melt flow index (MFI) was obtained on the device IIRT-AM (ASMA-Pribor, Svitlovodsk, Ukraine) at a temperature of 190 °C and load of 5 kg.

The images of the insect and the microstructure of the elytra were captured using a Lynx LM-1322 optical microscope (Olympus corporation, Tokyo, Japan) and a charged coupled device (CCD) camera (Nikon, Tokyo, Japan) attached to the microscope. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) imaging of all the samples is performed after cleaning with the help of ultrasonication and a subsequent drying. The prepared elytra sections were carefully mounted on double-sided carbon tape and stuck on an aluminum stub, followed by sputter coating (Manual sputter coater, Agar Scientific Ltd., Stansted, United Kingdom) with gold. Images were captured using an SEM (EVO 40 XVP, ZEISS, Jena, Germany) with accelerating voltages between 5 and 20 kV. ImageJ software was used for all dimensional quantification reported in this study [26 ].

Klebsiella pneumoniae BAA-1706, A. baumannii ATCC 19606 and P. aeruginosa ATCC 27853 were cultured in Ca-MHB medium to mid-exponential phase and harvested at 1500 × g for 10 min. The cells were washed with PBS twice and resuspended in PBS to obtain a final OD₆₀₀ of 0.3. The cell suspension was incubated with P1 and P2 (10 μg/ml) at 37°C. The treatment time was 45 min for K. pneumoniae and A. baumanii while P. aeruginosa was incubated for 2 h. After incubation, the cells were washed twice with PBS and fixed in 2.5% (v/v) glutaraldehyde overnight at 4°C. Afterward, the cells were washed with PBS three times and dehydration was performed using graded ethanol steps (30, 50, 70, 90, and 100%), for 30 min each. Thereafter, the bacteria were incubated with tertiary butyl alcohol at room temperature and then at -20°C, for 30 min each. The samples were lyophilized and kept in the desiccator until processed. The cells were gold coated and the specimens were observed under scanning electron microscope (EVO 40XVP CARL ZEISS).

To examine the 3D structure and determine the porosity of the hydrogels, SEM analysis was carried out. After the DTT treatment, hydrogels were thoroughly washed with ultrapure water and subsequently freeze dried. Microscopic pictures were taken using a ZEISS EVO 40 XVP scanning electron microscope equipped with an Oxford INCA X-ray spectrometer (EDS). The applied accelerating voltage was 20 kV. The samples were fixed on a special conductive sticker with tweezers. Before examination, samples were sputter coated with palladium in a thickness of 20–30 nm with a 2SPI Sputter Coating System. The average pore size of the samples was determined by the Fiji (ImageJ) image analysis program with 20 parallel measurements.

For SEM analysis, samples were placed on conductive carbon tape and sputter-coated using a 2SPI Sputter Coating System (West Chester, PA, USA) with 20–30 nm gold. Pictures were taken with a Zeiss Evo 40 XVP (Oberkochen, Germany) SEM (accelerating voltage 20 kV, magnification 5000). For fiber diameter analysis, 50 individual fibers were measured and analyzed by using the ImageJ software.

We conducted the microscopic studies of ZnO NPs and biopolymer nanofilled films at the Center for collective use of scientific instruments “Center for Electron Microscopy and X-Ray Microanalysis” of the Karpenko Physico-mechanical Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Lviv. We used a “Stemi 2000-C” optical microscope, a ZEISS EVO 40XVP scanning electron microscope with a micro X-ray spectral analysis system, and an INCA ENERGY 350 energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. Before conducting electron microscopic studies, we applied a monolayer of gold to the surface of the samples to increase their conductivity. We studied the chemical composition of the phases by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS).