Probing the microstructure of hydrogels using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching

Abstract

Diffusion of labeled BSA in polyacrylamide hydrogels was studied with variation of polymer and crosslinker concentration in order to probe the microstructure of the hydrogels. With the rise in polymer concentration beyond a certain threshold, single exponential recovery shifted to double exponential, suggesting structural changes in the hydrogel matrix. A similar shift from single to double diffusive behavior was seen on increasing crosslinker concentration at a given polymer concentration. © 2013 American Institute of Physics.