Mechanoresponsive Hydrogel Particles as a Platform for Three-Dimensional Force Sensing

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biophysics
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Mechanosensitive materials are crucial for understanding physical forces in biological and engineering systems.
• Developing adaptable probes for force sensing in 3D environments remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce novel mechanosensitive hydrogel microparticles.
• To demonstrate their capability for translating mechanical deformation into fluorescence changes.
• To establish them as a tunable platform for force sensing.

Main Methods:

• Hydrogel microparticles synthesized using droplet microfluidics with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) precursors.
• Incorporation of Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) pairs for fluorescence reporting.
• Characterization using confocal laser scanning microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM).

Main Results:

• Hydrogel microparticles exhibit fluorescence shifts in response to global (drying/rehydration) and local deformations.
• AFM enables quantification of mechanical properties, linking strain to stress for 3D force sensing.
• Microfluidic control allows tuning of particle size, mechanical properties, and mechanosensitivity.

Conclusions:

• The developed hydrogel microparticles serve as a versatile platform for mechanical force sensing.
• Tunable properties make them suitable for applications in structural mechanics and cell culturing.
• This technology offers a novel approach for probing mechanical environments.