Tuesday publication post 📖 In this newest publication from the Northwestern University, Nathan Rosenmann from the Nathan Gianneshi group used the Poseidon AX system to investigate the nanoscale structure of solvated hydrogels using liquid-phase TEM (LPTEM), providing a direct view of these materials without desolvation or shear artefacts.
Focusing on methylcellulose hydrogels, the authors reveal how nanoscale structures assemble into larger-scale networks that ultimately influence the bulk properties of the material.
Key findings:
🔬 Methylcellulose hydrogels form networks with high persistence length and micrometre-scale fibril bundles arranged in hierarchical assemblies.
🧩 These hierarchical structures help explain the concentration dependence of the hydrogels’ rheological properties more accurately than previous models.
💧🔥 LPTEM at increased temperatures enables the hydrated network structure to be observed while maintaining the solvated state of the material.
This study demonstrates how #PoseidonAX enables high-spatiotemporal-resolution imaging of soft and hydrated materials, opening new possibilities for understanding complex biological and polymer networks relevant to drug delivery, tissue engineering, and other applications.
Want to read the entire work?
https://www.doi.org/10.1038/s41563-026-02491-z
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