Fig. 6: Antibacterial mechanism of HiZP.

a Live/dead fluorescent staining images (scale bar = 20 μm) and (b) SEM images (scale bar = 500 nm) of S. aureus after different treatments. Green and red signals denote viable and dead bacteria, respectively. c Fluorescence images of DiBAC4(3) stained S. aureus after different treatments (scale bar = 100 μm). Green signal denotes bacterial membrane damage (depolarization). d Absorption spectra of free DNA and the supernatants of untreated S. aureus and S. aureus treated with HiZP. e Time-dependent changes in ATP concentrations before and after treating S. aureus with HiZP. The antibacterial behaviors of HiZP against (f) S. aureus and E. coli and (g) amp-resistant S. aureus and E. coli. Scale bars are 500 nm. The images in (a), (b), (c), (f), and (g) are representatives of three independent experiments with similar results. Data are presented as mean values ± standard deviation (n = 3 independent experiments). Statistical significance was analyzed via one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s multiple comparisons test.