|
|||||
|
|
PAINT-ing Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc)-Diphenylalanine Hydrogels |
|
| Authors: | Edgar Fuentes Kamila Bohá?ová Ana M Fuentes-Caparrós Dr Ralf Schweins Dr Emily R Draper Dr Dave J Adams Dr Silvia Pujals Dr Lorenzo Albertazzi |
| Institution: | 1. Nanoscopy for nanomedicine lab, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Baldiri Reixac, 08028 Barcelona, Spain
These authors contributed equally.;2. Nanoscopy for nanomedicine lab, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Baldiri Reixac, 08028 Barcelona, Spain Department School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ UK These authors contributed equally.;3. Department School of Chemistry, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ UK;4. Large Scale Structures Group, Institut Laue-Langevin, 71 Avenue des Martyrs, CS 20156, 38042 Grenoble, CEDEX 9, France;5. Nanoscopy for nanomedicine lab, Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia, Baldiri Reixac, 08028 Barcelona, Spain |
| Abstract: | Self-assembly of fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl-protected diphenylalanine (FmocFF) in water is widely known to produce hydrogels. Typically, confocal microscopy is used to visualize such hydrogels under wet conditions, that is, without freezing or drying. However, key aspects of hydrogels like fiber diameter, network morphology and mesh size are sub-diffraction limited features and cannot be visualized effectively using this approach. In this work, we show that it is possible to image FmocFF hydrogels by Points Accumulation for Imaging in Nanoscale Topography (PAINT) in native conditions and without direct gel labelling. We demonstrate that the fiber network can be visualized with improved resolution (≈50 nm) both in 2D and 3D. Quantitative information is extracted such as mesh size and fiber diameter. This method can complement the existing characterization tools for hydrogels and provide useful information supporting the design of new materials. |
| Keywords: | FmocFF hydrogels Mesh size PAINT super-resolution |