Fig. 8.

Transmission electron microscopy appearance of E. coli cells from a 5-mL, 20-min exposure treatment combination. At the low magnification (a) (20,000 ×, scale bar is 2 μm), all cells are damaged, with no signs of cytoplasm visible inside the cells. The cell walls are destroyed, and vesicular bodies are present in the cells. The image is dominated by cellular debris. At the middle magnification (b) (50,000 ×, scale bar is 1 μm), empty cell walls and fragments populate the optical field. No pili are seen on the surface of the bacteria. At the highest magnification (c) (120,000 ×, scale bar is 500 nm), the arrow points to a 35-nm gap in the wall of a cell nearly devoid of cytoplasm. The surviving fraction associated with thyis treatement combination was 0.004 ± 0.001.