Responsive photonic alginate hydrogel particles for the quantitative detection of alkaline phosphatase

Abstract Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is an important marker for many diseases, yet efficient and reliable detection method still lacking. Here, we present a novel photonic alginate hydrogel particle as ALP sensor based on the competitive combination of intermediary agent, pyrophosphate ion (PPi), with crosslinker, which can trigger phase-transition response from hydrogel. This be converted into dual optical readouts, fluorescence signal structural color signal. Quantitative determination was established this dual-indicator system high accuracy reliability. These features suggest potential ideal applications responsive particles to detect other macromolecules.