Refractive Index Matching: A General Method for Enhancing the Optical Clarity of a Hydrogel Matrix

Reported herein is a simple technique of “refractive index matching” to significantly improve the overall optical clarity of a hydrogel such as polyacrylamide. With increasing of the refractive index of the surrounding aqueous media through the incorporation of additives such as sucrose, inhomogeneity of the refractive index within the hydrogel network can be compensated, resultng in a decrease in the amount of light the hydrogel scatters or an increase of the optical clarity.