Axoft has introduced a new ultra-soft polymer designed to tackle a persistent problem in biological imaging: optical distortion caused by differences between the refractive index of imaging materials and water.

 

The neurotechnology company says its new Fleuron Water Invisible Soft Elastomer (WISE) can effectively “disappear” when submerged in water, matching water’s refractive index and reducing optical aberrations that can blur images of biological samples and living organisms.

 

WISE is now commercially available as a liquid that can be UV-cured into virtually any shape, as well as in sheets of specified thickness. The material can also be cast into molds to produce micron-scale structures, opening potential applications across advanced imaging and microstructured-device workflows.

 

“We designed WISE for the most advanced imaging applications in biology, where even the slightest refractive-index mismatch can degrade image quality,” said Axoft co-founder and CEO Paul Le Floch. 

 

“For biopharmaceutical and medical device companies, as well as research institutions building next-generation imaging platforms of living organisms and biological samples, or optimizing optical interfaces in aqueous environments, WISE provides the optical clarity, softness, inertness, moldability and biocompatibility needed for sharp, high-resolution visualization of biological samples.”

 

The material was developed through Axoft’s ongoing collaboration with the Shroff Lab at Janelia Research Campus, where researchers are pushing visible-light super-resolution imaging to reveal structures inside cells. Such work demands materials with exceptional optical clarity.

 

Beyond its optical properties, Axoft says WISE is biocompatible, resistant to water permeability and small-molecule sorption, compatible with harsh solvents, moldable at micron resolution, and selectively permeable to oxygen and carbon dioxide.

 

The launch expands Axoft’s Fleuron materials platform, which the company formally introduced last year. Fleuron formulations are already used in Axoft’s implantable brain-computer interface devices, where the company says the materials support biocompatibility, long-term signal stability and high-bandwidth communication between the brain and electronics.

 

Axoft is also developing Fleuron materials for microfluidics and organ-on-chip systems through an ongoing collaboration with Kayaku Advanced Materials.