Customized Hydrogel Films for MicroRNA Super-Resolution Imaging in Liquid Biopsies.

Tissue biopsy for early diagnosis and monitoring comes with several challenges, such as its invasiveness, and issues related to tissue heterogeneity in sampling. To address these issues, researchers have proposed a non-invasive approach called liquid biopsy, which uses blood samples to detect specific non-coding RNA (miRNA). However, the current process of isolating and amplifying miRNA can be time-consuming and yield non-specific results. In this study, we introduce a new super-resolution imaging tool that utilizes a thin, hydrogel-based liquid view (LV) film. This film can undergo a 9-fold expansion and allows the analysis of cells obtained from liquid biopsy. We have validated the potential of the LV film as a tool for early diagnosis and prognosis by testing biofluids derived from a variety of diseases. This method has been confirmed to accurately analyze a greater number of miRNAs with higher sensitivity in a shorter time compared to other analytical methods. Our findings suggest that the LV film provides high specificity, and multiplexing in detecting small amounts of miRNAs within cells, making it suitable for three-dimensional implementation. We propose that liquid biopsy with LV films could be a solution to limitations related to the invasiveness, cost, and time-consuming nature of molecular analysis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.