On the black table, the fluorescent cubes sat, captivating everyone’s attention. Everyone in the crowd sat and stared, wide-eyed, jaws locked. Shining on everyone’s faces different hues, the man explained how the objects worked and how they could help science. Everyone kept watching the glowing shapes, unable to release their attention.
So, it wasn’t that dramatic, but it sure seemed like that. The engineer in the lab revealed the artistic and scientific material: sol-gel. Sol-gel is said to be “glass made at room temperature”. However, instead of using sand particles and extremely hot temperatures, the sol-gel process uses some mixed chemicals. After a engineer mixes the chemicals, the person must shake the chemicals and slowly, the sol-gel will form. 
When the sol-gel forms, it shrinks slightly and densifies, creating a solid shape. This sol-gel process is much easier, and if a scientist wants to fill the inside of the gel with something, it will make a cast around the object. The sol-gel has the ability to hold small particles, such as enzymes and proteins, without actually damaging them.
Many scientists have used sol-gel for different purposes. Since the gel is one of the hardest and lightest ceramics, people make many products from these casts. One of the largest applications is thin films, which can be made for coating a substrate. 
However, there are some problems with sol-gel. If a scientist wishes to use the gel as a cast around an enzyme, the sol-gel’s large pores easily excrete the enzymes. With the positive and negative effects with sol-gel, does that mean we can use sol-gel?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_gel#Applications
http://www.chemat.com/html/solgel.html
http://sgmn.immt.pwr.wroc.pl/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=6&Itemid=30
http://www.sol-gel.com/MainPage.aspx?id=1
http://www.psrc.usm.edu/mauritz/solgel.html