Dimension icon afm machine

Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize the underlying microstructure of the nanofibrous hydrogel formed by the self-assembly of SLaM. 2% (w/v) hydrogel (i.e., 20 mg mL⁻¹) was fixed with 2% glutaraldehyde and dehydrated using critical point drying (CPD) to preserve internal structure. Dehydrated samples were sputter coated with gold-platinum before observation under SEM (JEOL JSM-7900F high-performance FE-SEM machine) (Fig. 1B).
Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides a method to detect individual nanofibers which show uniform width and consistent height. Sample solution was prepared by diluting 2% hydrogel in deionized water to reach 0.2%. Diluted solution was spin-coated on a flat mica disk and washed with DI water several times. The mica disc was fixed on magnet disc using carbon tape and dried overnight. The prepared sample was scanned in air on AFM (Bruker Dimension ICON AFM machine in ScanAsyst PeakForce mode) (Fig. 1C).

The underlying nanostructure of the SLen hydrogel was probed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The 2% (w/v) hydrogel was critical point dried, sputter-coated with gold and imaged in a JEOL JSM-7900F High-Performance FE-SEM machine. For AFM, the 2% (w/v) hydrogel was diluted 10X in deionized water and deposited on a flat mica surface, followed by spin-coating. The coated mica plate was imaged with a Bruker Dimension ICON AFM machine in ScanAsyst PeakForce mode.