Quantum sensing tools have emerged as a compelling means to study nanoscale chemical and biological processes with high sensitivity and spatial resolution, promising wide impact in a variety of fields ranging from chemical synthesis to bioengineering. Recently there has been expanded interest in assay-like quantum sensing approaches that can yield high-fidelity analyte discrimination for practical applications. In this work, we introduce a novel high-throughput, in-flow, quantum sensing platform based on droplet microfluidics. Quantum sensors based on nanodiamonds hosting Nitrogen Vacancy (NV) centers are incorporated within monodisperse phase separated droplets which serve as picoliter containers for both the sensors and for analytes of interest. Such controllable micro-compartments allow for strong sensor-analyte interaction, and allow for the rapid, high throughput (~10kHz), quantum sensing of numerous droplets. We demonstrate a novel method for noise-suppression in the fluorescence-based optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) measurements exploiting droplet flow, and use it to carry out high sensitivity assay detection of several analytes of biological importance.
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