We describe the simple preparation of nitrocellulose gels and high surface area (300 + m(2) g(-1)) aerogels and their hierarchical pore structures. The solvent in which the gels form greatly influences the pore geometry and size distribution of the gels in both the macro- and mesopore domains.

Static and quasielastic light scattenng expenments have been performed on the reaction bath of partially neutralized poly(acrylic acid) solutions and gels. The intensity scattered from gels is independent on the scattenng wavevector, giving thus evidence that the gels are homogeneous at the scale of the wavelength of the light, contrary to what is generally observed in

Thin layers of gels with mechanical properties mimicking animal tissues are widely used to study the rigidity sensing of adherent animal cells and to measure forces applied by cells to their substrate with traction force microscopy. The gels are usually based on polyacrylamide and their elastic modulus is measured with an atomic force microscope (AFM). Here we present a simple microfluidic devi...

Hydrogels with tunable electrical and mechanical properties have a wide range of biological applications in tissue engineering, biosensing, and biorobotics. In this work, palladium-based metallic glass sub-micron wires (PdMGSMWs) were employed to enhance the conductivity and mechanical strength of gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) gels. The values of electrical resistivity and stiffness of hybrid Ge...

For the development of valid algorithms for matching protein spots between two-dimensional gels, it is essential that one has an understanding of the relative roles of the many sources of variability affecting the location of spots. We first consider the contribution of observers to the measurement variability of spot location, arriving at a simple model for these effects. Next we present an an...

Species ranging from single-cell organisms to social insects can undergo auto-chemotaxis, where the entities move towards a chemo-attractant that they themselves emit. Polymer gels undergoing the self-oscillating Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction exhibit autonomous, periodic pulsations, which produce chemical species collectively referred to as the activator. The diffusion of this activator in...

We report dynamic glycoprotein recognition of gels prepared by biomolecular imprinting using lectin and antibody molecules as ligands for tumor-specific marker glycoproteins. The glycoprotein-imprinted gels prepared with minute amounts of cross-linkers could dynamically recognize tumor-specific marker glycoproteins by lectin and antibody ligands and induce volume changes according to the glycop...

High pressure effects on the strength (stress) and elasticity/ deformability (strain) of surimi and turkey breast meat gels containing microbial transglutaminase (TGase) were evaluated. Pressurization of muscle proteins at 4oC prior to incubation at 25°C or 40°C (setting) increased gel strength 2–3 fold in uncooked surimi gels, but not in uncooked turkey gels. However, pressurization at 40°C or...