Cheng Guangyao, Xiao Qinru, Kuan Chit Yau, Ho Yi-Ping
Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Centre for Novel Biomaterials, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Microsyst Nanoeng. 2023 Jul 12;9:89. doi: 10.1038/s41378-023-00567-3. eCollection 2023.
Water-in-oil droplets have emerged as promising microreactors for high-throughput biochemical analysis due to their features of reduced sample consumption and automated operation. For a typical screening application, droplets are often trapped for continuous monitoring of the reaction over an extended period, followed by the selective retrieval of targeted droplets based on the after-effect of biochemical reactions. While techniques for droplet trapping are well developed, retrieval of targeted droplets mainly demands complicated device fabrication or sophisticated control. Herein, facile and rapid selective droplet release is achieved by utilizing a new class of photoresponsive fluorosurfactant based on plasmonic nanoparticles. The intense photothermal response provided by this novel photoresponsive fluorosurfactant is capable of vaporizing the fluorocarbon oil at the droplet interface under laser illumination, resulting in a bubble releasing a trapped droplet on demand. A fully automated fluorescence-activated droplet release platform has also been developed to demonstrate its potential for droplet-based large-scale screening applications.
由于具有减少样品消耗和自动化操作的特点，油包水微滴已成为用于高通量生化分析的有前景的微反应器。对于典型的筛选应用，微滴通常被捕获以长时间连续监测反应，然后基于生化反应的后效应选择性地检索目标微滴。虽然微滴捕获技术已得到很好的发展，但目标微滴的检索主要需要复杂的设备制造或精密的控制。在此，通过使用一类基于等离子体纳米粒子的新型光响应性氟表面活性剂，实现了简便快速的选择性微滴释放。这种新型光响应性氟表面活性剂提供的强烈光热响应能够在激光照射下使微滴界面处的氟碳油汽化，从而产生一个气泡，按需释放被捕获的微滴。还开发了一个全自动荧光激活微滴释放平台，以展示其在基于微滴的大规模筛选应用中的潜力。
