Single-phase isolation of paired hetero particles within a microfluidic device for multiplex analysis without cross-contamination

This paper presents an array-format microfluidic device that facilitates a cross-contamination-free multiplex analysis by the interaction and combination of co-located hetero-particles within confined micro-chambers. Parallel observation of multiple interactions between paired hetero-particles is achievable with this microfluidic device. A one-to-one pair array of microparticles is simply formed by sequentially loading the hetero-particles without changing flow direction. Cross-contamination between particle pairs is prevented as if each of the reaction chambers were in air curtains by incorporating the single-phase isolation method, which is continuously inflowing single-phase fluid into the microchannel. We analyzed multiple interactions between the paired polystyrene beads and hydrogel particles within each reaction chambers array without cross-contamination.