Figure 11. Differentiation of lectin (PNA and ConA)-Au labeling and nZVI by their size (scanning transmission electron microscopy – JEOL ARM200).
Figure 12. nZVI and lectin (PNA and ConA)-Au labeling co-location: Scanning transmission electron microscopy (JEOL ARM200) [(a) bright field, (b)dark field] and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry mapping [(c)FeKα and (d)AuLα].
nanoparticles in biofilms (Habimana et al., 2011). In this study, TEM observations coupled to lectin labeling suggested that our biofilm was quite dense in terms of cells and EPS concentrations. In addition to the nanoparticle (NP)/EPS interaction suggested by our results, the high EPS/bacteria density could also explain
that nZVI did not diffuse into the overall biofilm. Last, it can be hypothesized that even if the biofilm is very porous, the size of nZVI aggregates observed in biofilmsissobig that thebiofilm pores are rapidly plugged by the aggregates, thus preventing them from further entering the biofilm structure.
