Microgel Synthesis and Characterization

Microgels were created using an overhead spinning method^{15 (link)}. Briefly, the aqueous pre-gel solution was infused into spinning mineral oil at 2.5 mL/hr with a syringe pump. The oil was supplemented with 1% SPAN-80 and triethylamine (20 µL/mL of gel) and spinning at 350 rpm. Following microgel synthesis, microgels were purified with mineral oil and PBS, sterilized with 70% IPA, and transitioned to sterile PBS in a biosafety cabinet^{15 (link)}. Microgels were synthesized with Alexa Fluor 488 maleimide to allow for fluorescent identification and imaged using a Molecular Devices ImageXpress. Particle sizing was calculated custom thresholding module (ImageXpress)^{15 (link)}.