Electrochemically Modulated Optical Imaging Sensors Integrated with Microfluidics

Microfluidics has emerged as a powerful platform for the analysis of minute sample volumes, driving its widespread adoption in biosensing applications. Optical imaging and electrochemical sensing are two typical integration strategies, each offering distinct advantages. The optical methods provide detailed spatial mapping of chemical processes, while electrochemical techniques enable selective detection that is unhindered by optical scattering from impurities. Here, we introduce a novel optical imaging-electrochemical sensor for integrated microfluidic analysis. This approach employs an electrochemical workstation to modulate optical signals, enabling the simultaneous acquisition of decoupled optical images and electrochemical readings. Consequently, it delivers complementary information, revealing both the spatial distribution of analytes and their intrinsic electrochemical properties. We detail the system design and imaging principle, demonstrate its utility through the analysis of noble metal nanoparticles, which are commonly used for signal amplification in biosensors, and finally apply it to monitor biological processes on live cells. We believe this integrated methodology will develop into a powerful tool for operando analysis in microfluidics, significantly expanding its application in the biosensing of complex biological fluids.