Extended Data Fig. 3. Direct measurement of diffusion coefficients.
The diffusion coefficients of the FITC–dextrans in the brain phantom agarose gel were determined directly by measuring the time course of diffusion of FITC-dextran from a 1-mm thick sheet of gel, into an effectively infinite stirred water bath containing all the components of the brain phantom (except the agarose and FITC-dextran). By recording the reduction in the fluorescent signal close to the impermeable glass surface on which the gel was set, as a function of time, the diffusion coefficient could be directly determined using equation [7] (ref. 26). The figure shows data from a typical experiment using 4 kDa FITC-dextran (blue trace) and the red dashed line shows the change predicted by equation [7].