3D Structures of Responsive Nanocompartmentalized Microgels

Abstract

Compartmentalization in soft matter is important for segregating and coordinating chemical reactions, sequestering (re)active components, and integrating multifunctionality. Advances depend crucially on quantitative 3D visualization in situ with high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we show the direct visualization of different compartments within adaptive microgels using a combination of in situ electron and super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. We unravel new levels of structural details and address the challenge of reconstructing 3D information from 2D projections for nonuniform soft matter as opposed to monodisperse proteins. Moreover, we visualize the thermally induced shrinkage of responsive core-shell microgels live in water. This strategy opens doors for systematic in situ studies of soft matter systems and their application as smart materials.

Synthesis of Polyampholyte Janus‐like Microgels by Coacervation of Reactive Precursors in Precipitation Polymerization

“…As super-resolved fluorescence microscopy (SFM) [23] method, dSTORM [24] has been proven to be very suitable for the imaging of microgels. [25] It was also used here to study the morphology of the Janus-like microgels in aqueous solution. Before measuring, Janus-like microgels were labeled with a negatively charged fluorescent dye sodium 5,5'-((perfluorocyclopent-1-ene-1,2-diyl)bis(2-ethyl-1,1-dioxidobenzo [b]thiophene-3,6-diyl))bis(2-methoxybenzenesulfonate) [26] that effectively attaches to the imidazole group at pH 4 (Figure 3 B).…”

In Situ Growth and Size Regulation of Single Gold Nanoparticles in Composite Microgels

“…Consequently, a multitude of possible applications in biotechnology, biomedicine (imaging agents, drug carriers, etc. ), and biocatalysis are conceivable …”

“…In situ formation of NPs inside MGs offers several advantages compared to the other techniques, such as the ability to utilize MGs with defined chemical structures and architectures, flexible loadings of NPs, and the prevention of NP leaching. However, so far, in situ growth of NPs in MGs resulted always in formation of numerous NPs per MG distributed either randomly or in a controlled manner . Herein, we present for the first time a novel simple method for the in situ synthesis of single AuNPs with tunable sizes inside stimuli‐responsive MGs.…”

Fluorescent Diarylethene Photoswitches—A Universal Tool for Super‐Resolution Microscopy in Nanostructured Materials

“…The visualization, with the above described methods, of apolar structures found in material science is often impossible since the employed polar switching buffers cannot significantly access apolar structures, whereas fluorescent proteins, if appropriate to be used, would denature under such conditions. As a consequence, super‐resolution microscopy has so far not been used extensively to address topics in soft matter or polymer science …”