Modulus watch: In situ determination of the gel modulus by timing the fluorescence color change

Tianyu Shan; Kai Zheng; Junhao Fei; Chao Li; Huiwen He; Yanqin Shi; Meng Ma; Si Chen; Longcheng Gao; Xu Wang

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.133

Modulus watch: In situ determination of the gel modulus by timing the fluorescence color change

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2023 Jun 15:640:656-661. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.133. Epub 2023 Feb 17.

Authors

Tianyu Shan¹, Kai Zheng¹, Junhao Fei¹, Chao Li², Huiwen He¹, Yanqin Shi¹, Meng Ma¹, Si Chen³, Longcheng Gao⁴, Xu Wang⁵

Affiliations

¹ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
² Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China.
³ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China. Electronic address: chensi@zjut.edu.cn.
⁴ Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266101, China; Laboratory of Bio-Inspired Smart Interfacial Science and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Chemistry, Beihang University, Beijing 100191, China. Electronic address: lcgao@buaa.edu.cn.
⁵ College of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China. Electronic address: wangxu@zjut.edu.cn.

PMID: 36893532
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2023.01.133

Abstract

The gel modulus, a key parameter for gel materials, is traditionally determined by cumbersome rheometer. Recently, probe technologies occur to meet the requirements of in situ determination. Till now, in situ and quantitatively testing of gel materials with unabridged structure informations still remains a challenge. Here, we provide a facile, in situ approach to determine the gel modulus, by timing the aggregation of a doped fluorescence probe. The probe shows green emission during aggregation and shifts to blue once it forms aggregates. The higher modulus of the gel, the longer probe's aggregation time. Furthermore, a quantitative correlation of gel modulus with the aggregation time is established. The in situ method not only facilitates the scientific researches in the field of gels, but also provides a new approach for spatiotemporal materials.

Keywords: Aggregation-induced emission; Diffusion; Fluorescence color change; Gel modulus; In situ.