Fig. 3: Fluorescence profile of M13 phage microgels and fluorescence profile of the template before and after the microgel formation.

a–c Fluorescent images of three types of phage microgels made of 5 × 10¹³ PFU mL⁻¹ of M13 phage with a 0.1 M GA, b 0.1 M EDC, and c 2% BSA + 0.1 M GA. Scale bar: 100 μm. GA glutaraldehyde, EDC 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide, BSA bovine serum albumin. d Quantified fluorescent intensity of 3 types phage microgels under four different channels. Box plots show minimum to maximum (whiskers), 25–75% (box), median (band inside) with all data points. a.u. arbitrary unit. M13 + GA microgels: n = 4 microgels per fluorescent channel. M13 + EDC and M13 + BSA + GA microgels: n = 5 microgels per fluorescent channel. e FTIR spectra of phage microgels. f–h Fluorescent images of honeycomb template filled with the mixture solution corresponding to a–c. Scale bar: 500 μm. i–k Fluorescent images of corresponding honeycomb films after the gelation of phage solution inside. Scale bar: 500 μm. Different fluorescent channels are: 1, bright field; 2, film excited at 340 nm and imaged using a λ = 435 nm optical filter (blue channel); 3, film excited at 465 nm and imaged using a λ = 515 nm optical filter (green channel); 4, film excited at 528 nm and imaged using a λ = 590 nm optical filter (orange channel) and 5, film excited at 625 nm and imaged using a λ = 670 nm optical filter (red channel). (n = 3 independent experiments for f–k).