Gel Noodles

Here is the method for making gel noodles with the 2NapFF gelator. Noodles could also be made with other gelators which gel upon the additions of a salt trigger.

Preparation of 2NapFF solution: The 20 mg/mL 2NapFF solutions are prepared by stirring a mixture of 400 mg (0.806 mmol) of 2NapFF, 11.94 mL of deionized water, and 8.06 mL of 0.1 M base (e.g. NaOH). The mixture is stirred overnight at room temperature (~20 °C) with a 25×8 mm stirrer bar in a 50 mL centrifuge tube at 1000 RPM. The pH is adjusted to 10.5 ± 0.05 using 1.0 M of the identical base.  

Preparation of gel-noodles: About 20 mL of 0.5 M CaCl₂ is placed on a petri dish (diameter 90 mm) and it was rotated on a spin-coater at 100 rpm. The 2NapFF solution is extruded from a ProSense syringe pump, fitted with a 10 mL syringe and a 21-gauge needle, at a flow rate of 3 mL/min.