A simple microfluidic tool to design anisotropic microgels

A simple microfluidic tool to design anisotropic microgels

Many different techniques have been reported for the generation of monodisperse microgels, however, control over shape and material composition without overcomplicating the set-up remains difficult. While some batch processing techniques can produce high resolution complex shapes, they offer less fl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Reactive & functional polymers Vol. 167; p. 105012
Main Authors: Keller, Shauni, Dekkers, René, Hu, Guo Xun, Tollemeto, Matteo, Morosini, Martina, Keskin, Arif, Wilson, Daniela A.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01-10-2021
Elsevier BV
Subjects:
Anisotropy
Aqueous solutions
Aqueous-two-phase-separation
Asymmetry
Batch processing
Biocompatibility
Ceramics
Composition
Double emulsions
Droplets
Emulsions
Hydrogels
Microfluidics
Microgel
Microgels
Microparticles
Nanoparticles
Quantitative analysis
Microgel
Hydrogels
Microfluidics
Aqueous-two-phase-separation
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Summary:Many different techniques have been reported for the generation of monodisperse microgels, however, control over shape and material composition without overcomplicating the set-up remains difficult. While some batch processing techniques can produce high resolution complex shapes, they offer less flexibility. Microfluidic techniques, on the contrary, are ideal tools for generating monodisperse droplets as precursors for soft microbeads. Unfortunately, microfluidic tools have not yet been utilized to their full potential, commonly generating spherical droplets consisting of one material only. Here, we combine aqueous-phase-separation with microfluidics to generate double emulsions. Depending on the materials used, microgels having either asymmetry in shape or asymmetry in material composition are obtained. We show the versatility of this microfluidic design to generate biocompatible microparticles of two or more immiscible, aqueous solutions of which at least one is polymerizable and give a detailed description on how to make these microparticles including some crucial handling steps. Schematic depiction of the three-inlet microfluidic chip for the generation of double emulsions. [Display omitted] •Aqueous-phase-separation combined with microfluidics offers new possibilities to generate multiphase emulsions.•Multiphase droplets are transformed into anisotropic microgels•Anisotropy in shape and chemical composition can be obtained
ISSN:1381-5148
1873-166X
DOI:10.1016/j.reactfunctpolym.2021.105012