Microfluidic chips have been widely applied in biology
and medical
research for stably generating uniform droplets that can be solidified
into hydrogel microspheres. However, issues such as low microsphere
yield, lengthy experimental processes, and susceptibility to environmental
interference need to be addressed. In this work, a simple and effective
method was developed to modify microfluidic chips at room temperature
to improve the production performance of hydrogel microspheres. Numerical
simulation-assisted experiments were conducted to comprehensively
understand the effect of solution viscosity, hydrophilicity, and flow
rate ratio on droplet formation during microsphere production. Chitosan
was selected as the main component and combined with poly(ethylene
glycol) diacrylate to prepare photocurable hydrogel microspheres as
a demonstration. As a result, grafting fluoro-silane (FOTS) increased
the contact angle of the channel from 90 to approximately 110°,
which led to a 12.2% increase in droplet yield. Additionally, FOTS-modification
attenuated the impact of the flow rate ratio on droplet yield by 19.1%.
Alternatively, depositing dopamine decreased the channel’s
contact angle from 90 to 60°, resulting in a 21.4% increase in
particle size and enabling the chip to adjust droplet size over a
wider range. Further study demonstrates that the obtained hydrogel
microspheres can be modified with layers of aldehyde, which can potentially
be used for controlled drug release. Overall, this study proposed
a facile method for adjusting the yield and droplet size through surface
treatment of microfluidic chips while also enhancing the understanding
of the synergistic effects of multiple factors in microfluidics-based
microsphere production.