Figure 3. The effects of the CDs on bacterial cell membranes.
(a-b) Time courses of the absorbance at 420 nm of the mixtures of the CD
at different concentrations with E. coli (a) and S. aureus(b) in the presence of ONPG. The absorbance at 420 nm on they -axis is proportional to the amount of leakedβ -galactosidase. (c-d) SEM (c) and TEM (d) images of E.
coli and S. aureus before and after the treatment by 50 mg/mL of
the CD for 1 h. Scale bars all indicate 1 μm. (e) Schematic illustration
of the disruption of the bacteria membrane structure by the CDs.