The grids were observed on an FEI Tecnai F20 electron microscope (Thermo Fisher Scientific) operated at 200 kV with a typical magnification of ~34,500 × and 1-3 μm defocus.
Subsamples of flocculent material were viewed under phase contrast, fixed and stained with DAPI for cell counting via epiflourescent microscopy, or fixed for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with elemental detection system (EDS) on a Zeiss Supra 40VP.