Photon-Upconversion Barcoding with Multiple Barcode Channels: Application for Droplet Microfluidics.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Spectroscopy
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Photon-upconversion (PUC) barcoding offers advantages over fluorescence due to its orthogonality.
• High-throughput analytical methods require efficient barcoding techniques for complex matrices.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and demonstrate a novel epiluminescence detector for reading photon-upconversion spectra from microdroplets.
• To enable high-throughput, multiplexed assays using PUC barcoding on a microfluidic platform.

Main Methods:

• Construction of an epiluminescence detector for microfluidic chip integration.
• Reading photon-upconversion spectra from microdroplets at frequencies up to 10 Hz.
• Utilizing non-negative least-squares deconvolution to resolve multiple PUC barcode channels.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated real-time reading of photon-upconversion spectra from microdroplets.
• Achieved reading of six PUC barcode channels from emission spectra (excitation 980 nm, emission 430-875 nm).
• Obtained a standard deviation of approximately 1% for barcode reading from microdroplets.

Conclusions:

• The developed epiluminescence detector enables unprecedented reading of PUC barcode channels.
• This technology facilitates high-throughput, cost-effective, and multiplexed analytical applications.
• Potential applications include multiparameter titrations, biological/chemical assays, and library preparation.