Responsive Janus Structural Color Hydrogel Micromotors for Label-Free Multiplex Assays
Huan Wang,
Lijun Cai,
Dagan Zhang,
Luoran Shang,
Yuanjin Zhao
Affiliations
Huan Wang
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210002, China; The Eighth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen 518033, China
Lijun Cai
State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
Dagan Zhang
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210002, China
Luoran Shang
Shanghai Xuhui Central Hospital, Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, and The Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, The International Co-Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology), Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
Yuanjin Zhao
Department of Clinical Laboratory, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210002, China; State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China; Chemistry and Biomedicine Innovation Center, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
Micromotors with self-propelling ability demonstrate great values in highly sensitive analysis. Developing novel micromotors to achieve label-free multiplex assay is particularly intriguing in terms of detection efficiency. Herein, structural color micromotors (SCMs) were developed and employed for this purpose. The SCMs were derived from phase separation of droplet templates and exhibited a Janus structure with two distinct sections, including one with structural colors and the other providing catalytic self-propelling functions. Besides, the SCMs were functionalized with ion-responsive aptamers, through which the interaction between the ions and aptamers resulted in the shift of the intrinsic color of the SCMs. It was demonstrated that the SCMs could realize multiplex label-free detection of ions based on their optical coding capacity and responsive behaviors. Moreover, the detection sensitivity was greatly improved benefiting from the autonomous motion of the SCMs which enhanced the ion-aptamer interactions. We anticipate that the SCMs can significantly promote the development of multiplex assay and biomedical fields.
