Table 1.

Description of the five aqueous media examined in this study

	Composition and character	Fields of application
DI (deionized water)	Purified water free of ions	Chemistry, physics and biology
AS (artificial seawater)	Solution with ion types and concentrations similar to those of seawater	Industry, agriculture, transportation and military
NS (normal saline)	A sodium chloride solution with the same osmolarity as that of human body fluid	Biology and medicine
PBS (phosphate-buffered saline)	A phosphorus saline buffer solution with the same pH and osmolarity as those in human tissue fluid	Biomaterials, pharmacy and regenerative medicine
HS (Hank’s solution)	A saline buffer solution with the same pH, ion types and concentrations as those in mammal plasma	Medical stents and scaffolds in contact with blood