Surface immobilized hydrogels as versatile reagent reservoirs for microarrays

► A new compartmentalized storage system for soluble microarray reagents ► Containers are made of hydrogel plugs immobilized on a slide. ► The hydrogel microenvironments can store reagents in a dry form. ► The hydrogel plugs prevent cross-reactivity issues. ► The hydrogels promote accurate quantification by integrated calibration curve.