We developed retroreflective Janus microparticles (RJPs) as a novel optical immunosensing probe for use in a nonspectroscopic retroreflection-based immunoassay. By coating the metals on the hemispherical surface of silica particles, highly reflective RJPs were fabricated. On the basis of the retroreflection principle, the RJPs responded to polychromatic white light sources, in contrast to conventional optical probes, which require specific monochromatic light. The retroreflection signals from RJPs were distinctively recognized as shining dots, which can be intuitively counted using a digital camera setup. Using the developed retroreflective immunosensing system, cardiac troponin I, a specific biomarker of acute myocardial infarction, was detected with high sensitivity. On the basis of the demonstrated features of the retroreflective immunosensing platform, we expect that our approach may be applied for various point-of-care-testing applications.
Keywords: Janus particle; biosensors; cardiac troponin I; immunoassays; retroreflection.