Three-dimensional observation of single polymer chains in polymer hybrid systems

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The objective of the current study is to clarify the properties of polymer hybrid systems at the single molecule level. We developed a novel super-resolution fluorescence microscopy system for the three-dimensional imaging. A temporal focus optics with an ultra-short pulse laser was implemented in the microscope system. Our microscope allows the three-dimensional imaging with nanometric spatial resolution for a large volume with 10 x 10 x 10 um^3. We examined the conformation of single chain of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in blend systems with incompatible polymers: poly(butyl methacrylate), poly(vinyl acetate), and poly(vinyl formal). The direct observation of individual chains revealed that the chain dimension of the PMMA chain was not dependent on the polymers. This indicates that the compatibility of the blend systems has little influence on the conformation of the polymer chain.