Multicompartmental Hydrogel Microspheres as a Tool for Multicomponent Analysis

Developing advanced tools for multicomponent analysis is an open challenge in engineering and life science. Herein, multicompartmental hydrogel microspheres with multi-material compatibility and structural scalability are developed as a tool for multicomponent analysis at a single-particle level. Microfluidic technology endows particles with adjustable sizes and super-segmented layouts that can be used to load various analyte probes. In order to perform multicomponent analysis, these microspheres are structurally divided into identifier regions for indicating reading direction and analyte regions for detecting target molecules. The multiplex detection ability of these particles is demonstrated in microRNA bioassays with high specificity and sensitivity. The multi-target analysis is performed on a single-particle level, and the bioassay is free of conventional labeling interference. We expect these particles to reach their potential in clinical diagnostics.