Mechanoresponsive Hydrogel Particles as a Platform for Three-Dimensional Force Sensing

We introduce a novel concept for mechanosensitive hydrogel microparticles, which translate deformation into changes in fluorescence and can thus function as mechanical probes. The hydrogel particles with controlled polymer network are produced via droplet microfluidics from poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) precursors. Förster resonance energy transfer donors and acceptors are coupled to the PEG hydrogel network for reporting local deformations as fluorescence shifts. We show that global network deformations, which occur upon drying/rehydration, can be detected via a characteristic fluorescence shift. Combined characterization with confocal laser scanning microscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) shows that also local deformation of the particles can be detected. Using AFM, the mechanical properties of the particles can be quantified, which allows linking strain with stress and thus force sensing in a three-dimensional environment. Microfluidic material design allows for precisely varying the size of our hydrogel microparticles as well as their mechanical properties and polymer network structure with regard to the choice of the macromolecular precursors and their functionalization with fluorophores. Thus, concomitant changes in mechanical properties and mechanosensitivity qualify these hydrogel microparticles as an adjustable material platform for force sensing in structural mechanics or cell culturing.