Zinc chloride zncl2

All reagents were of analytical grade and were used without any further purification. Zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) and hydrochloric acid (HCl) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany). High-purity graphene oxide was kindly supplied by the National Institute for Research and Development in Microtechnologies (IMT, Bucharest, Romania). It was obtained from natural graphite according to the Hummers protocol [28 (link)]. The provider has checked the formation of graphene oxide by Raman spectroscopy [29 (link)]. Phytagel^TM (high acyl Gellan Gum) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (subsidiary of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany). Stock solutions of Zn (II) were prepared by dissolving zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) in deionized water at room temperature. The working solutions were prepared by diluting the stock solution with deionized water and hydrochloric acid (HCl) used to adjust the pH to the preset values.

The OECD-sponsored ZnO-NPs used in this study, Z-COTE (uncoated) and Z-COTE HP1 (coated with triethoxycaprylylsilane), are commercially available from BASF (Mississauga, Canada). Fine ZnO (bulk control particles, micro-sized) and zinc chloride (ZnCl₂, a soluble zinc compound) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (Oakville, Canada). ZnO suspensions and dispersions were prepared in deionized water of liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry application grade (LC/MS water, Fisher Scientific, Burlington, Canada) for primary particle analysis. Z-COTE, Z-COTE HP1, or fine-ZnO in powder form were transferred into sterile zinc-free glass tube with caps. Conditions for sonication were optimized for various times and power settings. Sonication was routinely performed with an Ultrasonic Liquid Processor (MISONIX, New York, USA) for 15 min at 30 % amplitude in a water bath while continuously cooling the samples with ice during sonication. The final energy was 76,148 J, and the power was 75–85 W. All stock dispersions were adjusted to a final concentration of 100 µg/mL, and then further diluted in either LS/MS water or appropriate medium to the desired concentration. Working dilutions were used freshly.

Zinc chloride (ZnCl₂) (99%), hydrogen peroxide (30%), ammonium hydroxide (25–28%), and polyethylene glycol (PEG‐2000) (Average MW 2000) were all purchased from Sigma‐Aldrich Co., Ltd. Absolute ethanol was obtained from Titan Scientific Co., Ltd. All chemical agents were of analytical grade and were utilized without additional purification. Ultrapure water was obtained using ELGA water purification system (PURELAB Classic) and used during the whole experiments.

Dry ZnONPs and SiO₂NPs (particle sizes of 15 nm, analytical reagents of 99.5%) with a low ionic toxicity were purchased from Nanjing Emperor Nano Material Co., Ltd., China. These NPs were preliminarily analyzed in our experimental laboratory. The test results were in line with the nominal particle diameters (Figure S1A and B of the Supplementary Information). The ZnONPs appeared an ellipsoidal and polycrystalline structure (Figure S4A and C of the Supplementary Information); and SiO₂NPs showed an ellipsoidal and amorphous structure (Figure S4B and D of the Supplementary Information). The zeta potentials were 20.03 ± 1.49 mV for the ZnONPs and −21.17 ± 2.90 mV for the SiO₂NPs at pH 7.0, 25 °C, and KNO₃ electrolyte (1 mmol L⁻¹, no E .coli cells). Biotechnology-grade peptone and yeast extract were purchased from Oxoid Co., Ltd., Basingstoke, Hampshire, England. Sodium chloride (NaCl, 99.0%), zinc chloride (ZnCl₂, 99%) and sodium metasilicate (Na₂SiO₃·9H₂O, 98%) were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Ultrapure water produced by a Milli-Q gradient system (electrical conductivity 18.2 MΩ·cm, Millipore, Bedford, MA) was used to perform all experiments.

Quercetin (Q, CAS Number: 117-39-5) (Fig. 2A), artemisinin (Art, CAS Number: 63968-64-9, Fig. 2B), zinc chloride (ZnCl₂, CAS Number: 7646-85-7), and acrylamide (Acy, CAS Number: 79-06-1) were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA) and then used with no more purification. The analytical instruments employed are mentioned in Table 1.

Zinc chloride ZnCl₂, magnesium nitrate hexahydrate Mg(NO₃)₂·6H₂O, iron nitrate nonahydrate Fe(NO₃)₃·9H₂O, manganese nitrate tetrahydrate Mn(NO₃)₂·4H₂O, and citric acid monohydrate C₆H₈O₇·H₂O of analytical grade were purchased from Sigma Aldrich. All purchased reagents were directly used as received without further purification.