1% gel solutions were prepared and incubated in PBS. The samples were then diluted to 0.001% concentration. The samples (5 μl) were adsorbed on a freshly cleaved mica surface, rinsed after 30 sec. with 100 µl MilliQ water and left to dry (1h, rt) in the air before visualization. The topography of the deposited samples was analyzed using a JPK NanoWizard ® 4 atomic force microscope. The measurements were conducted in QI (Quantitative Imaging) mode using Tap150AL AFM cantilevers (Ted Pella, Inc., Redding, USA). The AFM images were processed and analyzed using the JPK Data Processing software (version spm-6.1.42).