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Hydrogel-based microbeads for Raman-encoded suspension array using the reversed-phase suspension polymerization method and ultraviolet light curing

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Abstract

A one-step synthesis using the reversed-phase suspension polymerization method and ultraviolet light curing is proposed for preparing the Raman-encoded suspension array (SA). The encoded microcarriers are prepared by doping the Raman reporter molecules into an aqueous phase, and then dispersing the aqueous phase in an oil phase and curing by ultraviolet light irradiation. The multiplexed biomolecule detection and various concentration experiments confirm the qualitative and quantitative analysis capabilities of the Raman-encoded SA with a limit of detection of 52.68 pM. The narrow bandwidth of the Raman spectrum can achieve a large number of codes in the available spectral range and the independence between the encoding channel and the fluorescent label channel provides the encoding method with high accuracy. This preparation method is simple and easy to operate, low in cost, and high in efficiency. A large number of hydrogel-based encoding microbeads could be quickly obtained with good biocompatibility. Most importantly, concentrating plenty of Raman reporter molecules inside the microbeads increases the signal intensity and means the molecular assembly is not limited by the functional groups; thus, the types of materials available for Raman encoding method are expanded. Furthermore, the signal intensity–related encoding method is verified by doping different proportions of Raman reporter molecules with our proposed synthesis method, which further increases the detection throughput of Raman-encoded SA.

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Funding

This research was made possible with the financial support from the National Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (61875102, 81871395, 61675113), the Science and Technology Research Program of Shenzhen City (JCYJ20170816161836562, JCYJ20170817111912585, JCYJ20160427183803458, JCYJ20170412171856582, JCY20180508152528735), the Oversea Cooperation Foundation, and the Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University (HW2018007).

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  1. Xuejing Chen and Xuesi Zhou contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Minimal Invasive Medical Technologies, Institute of Optical Imaging and Sensing, Graduate School at Shenzhen, Tsinghua University, Shenzhen, 518055, Guangdong, China

    Xuejing Chen, Xuesi Zhou, Qinghua He, Yonghong He, Tian Guan, Guangxia Feng, Bei Wang & Luyuan Xie

  2. Department of Physics, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Xuejing Chen & Yonghong He

  3. School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

    Tian Guan

  4. School of Physics and Telecommunication Engineering, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, Guangdong, China

    Yanhong Ji

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  1. Xuejing Chen
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Chen, X., Zhou, X., He, Q. et al. Hydrogel-based microbeads for Raman-encoded suspension array using the reversed-phase suspension polymerization method and ultraviolet light curing. Anal Bioanal Chem 412, 2731–2741 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02528-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-020-02528-5

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