Can SANS confirm whether dimensions from microscopy of dried gels are representative of hydrated gels?

Characterisation of structures formed within hydrogels is an important part of understanding their properties and how they can be used in real world applications. The real space imaging techniques widely used in the field for measurements on the nanoscale usually require the hydrogel to be dried. For gels in their fully hydrated state scattering techniques provide more representative data for the structures. Using small angle neutron scattering we will measure both hydrated and dried gel films to resolve the question of whether the size of features seen in dried film are representative of the hydrogel structure.