Preparation of monodisperse PNIPAM gel particles in a microfluidic device fabricated by stereolithography

Abstract

A microfluidic device with three-dimensional flow channels is fabricated by stereolithography according to a computer-aided design (CAD) model. By injecting water and oil phases into the device, a monodisperse water-in-oil emulsion is formed. We show that monodisperse thermosensitive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) gel particles can be prepared by photopolymerization of a gelation reagent dissolved in the water phase.

Numerical investigation of hard-gel microparticle suspension dynamics in microfluidic channels: Aggregation/fragmentation phenomena, and incipient clogging

“…Recently, microfluidic devices have received an increasing consideration as a versatile tool for preparing microgel particles [19][20][21]. Microgels are often utilized as carriers for proteins [22] and drug delivery systems due to the possibility to control the release of drugs [23].…”

The upcoming 3D-printing revolution in microfluidics

“…Silicates have been used traditionally as the base surface on which silane chemistry has been performed. The Hayakawa group derivatized the silicate surface with a fluorosilane, thereby making it possible for the device to generate monodisperse inverted water-in-oil emulsions 134 . Silane modification, followed by a phase conversion of allylhydridopolycarbosilane, can generate hydrophilic silicate-glass coatings inside the microchannels, which can confer excellent solvent resistance, and drive high electro-kinetic flow, while retaining transparency 135 .…”

3D‐Printed Microfluidics

“…Epoxy slides have been used to chemically immobilize protein surface gradients by amine-epoxy linkage for chemotaxis experiments, [109] so in principle epoxybased SL resins could be utilized to print chemotaxis devices. Another option is to derivatize the walls of the channel with as ilicate coating, which produces as urface that is amenable to standard silane chemistry.Ohtani et al [110] injected ahydrolyzed ethyl silicate solution (N-103X, Colcoat Co.) into the channel (part of ad roplet generator, [111] see Figure 14 c-e), then heated the device to 120 8 8Cf or 30 min to vaporize the solvent and cure the coating on the walls.A fter the hydrophilic treatment, the silicate surface was derivatized with af luorosilane compound to render it hydrophobic,w hich enabled the treated device to produce monodisperse inverted water-in-oil emulsions (Figure 14 f). Silane derivatization could enable silicate-like coatings made of allylhydridopolycarbosilane that confer polymer surfaces an electrophoretic mobility and as olvent resistance that (while retaining transparency) is indistinguishable from that of glass over at least 90 days.…”