Electron probe microanalyzer

Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the effect of different nanoparticles on the cuticle of the fourth instar mosquito larvae. After larval exposure to different concentrations of nanoparticles, all larvae were washed multiple times with buffered phosphate saline (pH 7.2) and labeled for their concentrations. The larvae were fixed for 24 h in chilled 2.5% glutaraldehyde, dehydrated in a serial upgraded ethanol degrees, dried in a CO₂ critical point drier (Autosamdri-815, Germany), and mounted on stubs with a double sticky tape before being sputter coated with 20 nm gold (Spi-Module sputter Coater, U.K.) as detailed by Attia et al. [16 (link)] The larvae were imaged using a Scanning Electron Microscope (JSM 5200, Electron Probe Microanalyzer, JEOL, Japan) at the Applied Center for Entomonematodes (ACE), Agricultural Experimental Station, Faculty of Agriculture (Cairo University, Egypt).

Chemical compositions of olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts and chrome spinel hosted by olivine were measured by a Shimadzu electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA 1600) at the CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments (CA-CMME) of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Back-scattered electron images were used to check the homogeneity of the minerals. During the quantitative analysis of clinopyroxene (cpx) phenocrysts and spinel inclusions in olivine, the operating conditions were the following: 15 kV accelerating voltage, 20 nA beam current and 1 μm spot size. Only the spinel grains located in the central zone of the host olivine phenocrysts were analysed. For olivine, the analytical method described by ref. ^{19 (link)} was used, employing an accelerating voltage of 20 kV, a beam current of 300 nA and a spot size of 5 μm. Natural minerals and synthetic oxides were used as standards, and a programme based on the ZAF procedure was used for all data correction. All the analysed points in cpx phenocrysts were set within thefourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis region. Some electron probe micro-analyses (EPMA) of cpx were conducted with a JEOL electron probe microanalyzer in the Hefei University of Technology. Analytical conditions were similar to those used in USTC.

In the SEM analysis, five specimens from each type of excysted Clinostomum species that were prepared as criteria in the established protocol, involved successive rinsing in saline solution and fixation in 2.5% glutaraldehyde, as previously outlined by [16 ]. Subsequently, the specimens underwent dehydration using an ascending ethanol series, were subjected to drying in a CO₂ critical point drier (Autosamdri-815, Germany), mounted onto stubs, and finally coated with a 20 nm layer of gold using a sputter coater (Spi-Module Sputter Coater, UK). The prepared specimens were then examined and captured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) at magnifications ranging from 35X to 500X (JSM 5200, Electron Probe Microanalyzer, JEOL, Japan) at the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University.