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Wang Q, Zhang Z, Wang C, Yang X, Fang Z, Shang L. Bioinspired Confined Assembly of Cellulosic Cholesteric Liquid Crystal Bubbles. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2024; 11:e2308442. [PMID: 38225706 PMCID: PMC10953211 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202308442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/17/2024]
Abstract
Construction of biomimetic models for structural color evolution not only gives new photonic phenomena but also provide cues for biological morphogenesis. Here, a novel confined self-assembly method is proposed for the generation of hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC)-based cholesteric liquid crystals (CLCs) microbubbles. The assembly process relies on the combination of droplet microfluidics, solvent extraction, and a volume confined environment. The as-prepared HPC structural color microbubbles have a transparent shell, an orderly arranged cholesteric liquid crystal (CLC) middle layer, and an innermost bubble core. The size of the microbubble, shell thickness, and the color of the CLC layer can be adjusted by altering the microfluidic parameters. Intriguingly, benefited from the compartmentalization effect provided by droplet microfluidics, microbubbles with multiple cores of different color combinations are generated under precise control. The self-assembled CLCs microbubbles have bright structural color, suspending ability, and good temperature-sensitive characteristics, making them ideal underwater sensors. The present confined assembly approach will shed light on creating novel photonic structures and the HPC microbubble will find widespread applications in multifunctional sensing, optical display, and other related fields are believed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiao Wang
- Shanghai Xuhui Central HospitalZhongshan‐Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigeneticsthe International Co‐laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology)Institutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhuohao Zhang
- Shanghai Xuhui Central HospitalZhongshan‐Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigeneticsthe International Co‐laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology)Institutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Chong Wang
- Shanghai Xuhui Central HospitalZhongshan‐Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigeneticsthe International Co‐laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology)Institutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xinyuan Yang
- Shanghai Xuhui Central HospitalZhongshan‐Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigeneticsthe International Co‐laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology)Institutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Zhonglin Fang
- Shanghai Xuhui Central HospitalZhongshan‐Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigeneticsthe International Co‐laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology)Institutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Luoran Shang
- Shanghai Xuhui Central HospitalZhongshan‐Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigeneticsthe International Co‐laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism (Ministry of Science and Technology)Institutes of Biomedical SciencesFudan UniversityShanghaiChina
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2
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Jiang T, Wu H, Liu S, Yan H, Jiang H. Effective colloidal emulsion droplet regulation in flow-focusing glass capillary microfluidic device via collection tube variation. RSC Adv 2024; 14:3250-3260. [PMID: 38249672 PMCID: PMC10797494 DOI: 10.1039/d3ra08561a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Colloidal emulsion droplets, created using glass capillary microfluidic devices, have been found in a myriad of applications, serving as subtle microcarriers, delicate templates, etc. To meet the objective requirements under varying circumstances, it is crucial to efficiently control the morphology and dimensions of the droplets on demand. The glass capillary collection tube is a crucial component of the flow-focusing microfluidic system due to its close association with the geometrical confinement of the multiphasic flow. However, there are currently no guidelines for the design of the morphology and dimensions of the glass capillary collection tube, which shall result in a delay in assessing serviceability until after the microfluidic device is prepared, thereby causing a loss of time and effort. Herein, an experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of the geometrical characteristics of glass capillary collection tubes on the production of colloidal emulsion droplets. After characterizing the generated colloidal emulsion droplets, it was found that the geometrical variations of the glass capillary collection tube resulted in numerical disparities of droplets due to different degrees of flow-focusing effects. The stronger flow-focusing effect produced smaller droplets at a higher frequency, and the dimensional variation of colloidal emulsion droplets was more responsive to varying flow rates. Furthermore, the transformation from colloidal single-core double-emulsion droplets to multi-core double-emulsion droplets also changed with the flow rate due to the glass capillary collection tube morphology-determined varying flow-focusing effect. These experimental findings can offer qualitative guidance for the design of glass capillary microfluidic devices in the preliminary stage, thus facilitating the smooth production of desired colloidal emulsion droplets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyi Jiang
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology West Da-Zhi Street 92 Harbin Heilongjiang PR China 150001
| | - Hao Wu
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology West Da-Zhi Street 92 Harbin Heilongjiang PR China 150001
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong Kowloon Hong Kong SAR PR China 999077
| | - Shuofu Liu
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology West Da-Zhi Street 92 Harbin Heilongjiang PR China 150001
| | - Hui Yan
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology West Da-Zhi Street 92 Harbin Heilongjiang PR China 150001
| | - Hongyuan Jiang
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology West Da-Zhi Street 92 Harbin Heilongjiang PR China 150001
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3
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Wu H, Ren Y, Jiang T, Wu W, Lu Y, Jiang H. Fabrication of syntactic foam fillers via integrated on/off-chip microfluidic methods for optimized geopolymer composites. LAB ON A CHIP 2022; 22:836-847. [PMID: 35081191 DOI: 10.1039/d1lc00901j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
To meet the evolving requirements of material designability, sustainability, and eco-friendliness, the development of syntactic foams puts great emphasis on filler optimization and matrix selection. Here, we present a novel microfluidic expansion coupled with the thermal contraction method to improve the fabrication of syntactic foam fillers (SFFs), highlighted by the independently regulated parameters in contrast to the hydrodynamic regulation approach. The eccentricity of droplets can be reduced via osmotic swelling under a hypotonic circumstance and further preserved through real-time UV polymerization. The eccentricity of shrunken SFFs after heat treatment is found to inherit the regulated configurations of droplets and this homogeneity difference of shell thickness can result in the mechanical performance deviation. Then, we choose greener material, geopolymer, as the binder matrix and prepare geopolymer syntactic foams (GSFs) by mold casting. The inclusion of SFFs has increased the atomic volume ratio of Si : Al in the matrix, thereby forming a strong interfacial bonding. The compressive yield strength of GSFs is inversely proportional to the volume fraction of SFFs, and the specimens after thermal exposure can still maintain their shape integrity and exhibit similar mechanical performance even with the formation of cracks. Moreover, the fire-resistant performance of GSFs has been visually validated by the combustion comparison experiment, characterized as flame retardancy, smoke-free, and basically intact morphology, which should give insights into the design and fabrication of functional composites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, PR China 999077
| | - Yukun Ren
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
- State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001
| | - Tianyi Jiang
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, PR China 999077
| | - Wenlong Wu
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
| | - Yang Lu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, PR China 999077
- Nano-Manufacturing Laboratory (NML), City University of Hong Kong Shenzhen Research Institute, Shenzhen, Guangdong, PR China 518057
| | - Hongyuan Jiang
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
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Liu Y, Sun L, Zhang H, Shang L, Zhao Y. Microfluidics for Drug Development: From Synthesis to Evaluation. Chem Rev 2021; 121:7468-7529. [PMID: 34024093 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Drug development is a long process whose main content includes drug synthesis, drug delivery, and drug evaluation. Compared with conventional drug development procedures, microfluidics has emerged as a revolutionary technology in that it offers a miniaturized and highly controllable environment for bio(chemical) reactions to take place. It is also compatible with analytical strategies to implement integrated and high-throughput screening and evaluations. In this review, we provide a comprehensive summary of the entire microfluidics-based drug development system, from drug synthesis to drug evaluation. The challenges in the current status and the prospects for future development are also discussed. We believe that this review will promote communications throughout diversified scientific and engineering communities that will continue contributing to this burgeoning field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuxiao Liu
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China.,State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Lingyu Sun
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China.,State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Hui Zhang
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China.,State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Luoran Shang
- Zhongshan-Xuhui Hospital, and the Shanghai Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, the International Co-laboratory of Medical Epigenetics and Metabolism, Ministry of Science and Technology, Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuanjin Zhao
- Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Institute of Translational Medicine, The Affiliated Drum Tower Hospital of Nanjing University Medical School, Nanjing 210008, China.,State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 210096, China
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5
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Wu H, Ren Y, Hou L, Jiang T, Jiang H. Fabrication of syntactic foam fillers via manipulation of on-chip quasi concentric nanoparticle-shelled droplet templates. LAB ON A CHIP 2020; 20:4600-4610. [PMID: 33135032 DOI: 10.1039/d0lc00730g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Syntactic foams with fly ash cenospheres or commercial microballoons as fillers have been widely used in various applications ranging from aerospace to marine fields and the automotive industry. However, these two extensively adopted fillers possess multiple shortcomings, such as variations in the composition, material degeneration and distinct structural heterogeneity, which will inevitably hamper accurate prediction of the structure-property relationship and the corresponding design of the syntactic foams, reducing material utilization. Here, we present a microfluidic-based approach integrated with a subsequent heat treatment process to engineer syntactic foam fillers with a predefined composition, specified dimensional scope and reduced structural heterogeneity. These fillers are fully guaranteed by the synergy of the flexible and controllable generation of droplet templates with hydrodynamic regulation and rational selection of the nanoparticle dynamic response with respect to the heating temperature. In addition, two distinct surface morphologies have been observed with a temperature demarcation point of 1473 K, further endowing the fillers with multiplicity and optionality, simultaneously laying the foundation to regulate the properties of the syntactic foams through the diversity of the filler selection. Then, we fabricated a syntactic foam specimen by mold casting, and the integrity of the fillers inside was verified using an elaborate buoyancy comparison experiment, exhibiting its potential value in lightweight related applications. As the fillers derived from our approach show significant advantages over conventional ones, they will provide considerable benefits for the regulation and improvement of syntactic foam fillers in many practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wu
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
| | - Yukun Ren
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001. and State Key Laboratory of Robotics and System, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001
| | - Likai Hou
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
| | - Tianyi Jiang
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
| | - Hongyuan Jiang
- School of Mechatronics Engineering, Harbin Institute of Technology, West Da-zhi Street 92, Harbin, Heilongjiang, PR China 150001.
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6
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Dyett BP, Zhang X. Accelerated Formation of H 2 Nanobubbles from a Surface Nanodroplet Reaction. ACS NANO 2020; 14:10944-10953. [PMID: 32692921 DOI: 10.1021/acsnano.0c03059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The compartmentalization of chemical reactions within droplets has advantages in low costs, reduced consumption of reagents, and increased throughput. Reactions in small droplets have also been shown to greatly accelerate the rate of many chemical reactions. The accelerated growth rate of nanobubbles from nanodroplet reactions is demonstrated in this work. The gaseous products from the reaction at the nanodroplet surface promoted nucleation of hydrogen nanobubbles within multiple organic liquid nanodroplets. The nanobubbles were confined within the droplets and selectively grew and collapsed at the droplet perimeter, as visualized by microscopy with high spatial and temporal resolutions. The growth rate of the bubbles was significantly accelerated within small droplets and scaled inversely with droplet radius. The acceleration was attributed to confinement from the droplet volume and effect from the surface area on the interfacial chemical reaction for gas production. The results of this study provide further understanding for applications in droplet enhanced production of nanobubbles and the on-demand liberation of hydrogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brendan P Dyett
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, VIC 3001, Australia
| | - Xuehua Zhang
- Department of Chemical & Materials Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton T6G1H9, Alberta, Canada
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7
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Hu Y, Li C, Wang J, Jia X, Zhu J, Wang Q, Wang H, Yang Y. Osmosis manipulable morphology and photonic property of microcapsules with colloidal nano-in-micro structure. J Colloid Interface Sci 2020; 574:337-346. [PMID: 32335483 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.04.062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2020] [Revised: 04/03/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Full visible spectrum photonic droplets and consequent microcapsules with nano-in-micro structure were prepared through microfluidic technique. Photo-curable resin and suspension of monodispersed soft nanogels were used as shell and core of the microcapsules, respectively. Upon UV irradiation, the droplets can be subsequently transformed into photonic microcapsules with an ultrathin polymeric shell. The shell thickness of the photonic microcapsules was found to be approximately 700 nm. Due to the ultrathin shell and soft core, the photonic microcapsules with nano-in-micro structure display dramatic changes both in shapes and photonic property under the impact of osmosis effect or temperature stimulus. Typically, the shell and core parts of nano-in-micro structure could respectively undergo a size expansion/even rupture and a size decrease/buckling under hypotonic and hypertonic condition. Correspondingly, the peak value of the reflection spectra of the microcapsules showed a redshift and blue shift, respectively. The mechanism to the structure and optical properties variation involves the osmotic pressure induced the volume-fraction change of the nanogel-based photonic dispersion and the shell buckling of the core/shell microcapsules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuandu Hu
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Chengnian Li
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jianying Wang
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Xiaolu Jia
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Jintao Zhu
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
| | - Qin Wang
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Hong Wang
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Yajiang Yang
- Hubei Key Lab of Materials Chemistry and Service Failure, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
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8
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Shakya G, Hoff SE, Wang S, Heinz H, Ding X, Borden MA. Vaporizable endoskeletal droplets via tunable interfacial melting transitions. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaz7188. [PMID: 32284985 PMCID: PMC7124936 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz7188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Liquid emulsion droplet evaporation is of importance for various sensing and imaging applications. The liquid-to-gas phase transformation is typically triggered thermally or acoustically by low-boiling point liquids, or by inclusion of solid structures that pin the vapor/liquid contact line to facilitate heterogeneous nucleation. However, these approaches lack precise tunability in vaporization behavior. Here, we describe a previously unused approach to control vaporization behavior through an endoskeleton that can melt and blend into the liquid core to either enhance or disrupt cohesive intermolecular forces. This effect is demonstrated using perfluoropentane (C5F12) droplets encapsulating a fluorocarbon (FC) or hydrocarbon (HC) endoskeleton. FC skeletons inhibit vaporization, whereas HC skeletons trigger vaporization near the rotator melting transition. Our findings highlight the importance of skeletal interfacial mixing for initiating droplet vaporization. Tuning molecular interactions between the endoskeleton and droplet phase is generalizable for achieving emulsion or other secondary phase transitions, in emulsions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gazendra Shakya
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, 1111 Engineering Dr., Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Samuel E. Hoff
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 596 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Shiyi Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 596 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Hendrik Heinz
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, 596 UCB, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, 027 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Xiaoyun Ding
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, 1111 Engineering Dr., Boulder, CO 80309, USA
| | - Mark A. Borden
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado, 1111 Engineering Dr., Boulder, CO 80309, USA
- Materials Science and Engineering Program, 027 UCB, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309, USA
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9
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Zhao X, Bian F, Sun L, Cai L, Li L, Zhao Y. Microfluidic Generation of Nanomaterials for Biomedical Applications. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2020; 16:e1901943. [PMID: 31259464 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201901943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2019] [Revised: 06/09/2019] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
As nanomaterials (NMs) possess attractive physicochemical properties that are strongly related to their specific sizes and morphologies, they are becoming one of the most desirable components in the fields of drug delivery, biosensing, bioimaging, and tissue engineering. By choosing an appropriate methodology that allows for accurate control over the reaction conditions, not only can NMs with high quality and rapid production rate be generated, but also designing composite and efficient products for therapy and diagnosis in nanomedicine can be realized. Recent evidence implies that microfluidic technology offers a promising platform for the synthesis of NMs by easy manipulation of fluids in microscale channels. In this Review, a comprehensive set of developments in the field of microfluidics for generating two main classes of NMs, including nanoparticles and nanofibers, and their various potentials in biomedical applications are summarized. Furthermore, the major challenges in this area and opinions on its future developments are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Zhao
- Department of Endocrinology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, P. R. China
- Research Institute of General Surgery, Jinling Hospital, Medical School of Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210002, P. R. China
| | - Feika Bian
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, P. R. China
| | - Lingyu Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, P. R. China
| | - Lijun Cai
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, P. R. China
| | - Ling Li
- Department of Endocrinology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, P. R. China
| | - Yuanjin Zhao
- Department of Endocrinology, Zhongda Hospital, School of Medicine, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210009, P. R. China
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, 210096, P. R. China
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10
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Li L, Yan Z, Jin M, You X, Xie S, Liu Z, van den Berg A, Eijkel JCT, Shui L. In-Channel Responsive Surface Wettability for Reversible and Multiform Emulsion Droplet Preparation and Applications. ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES 2019; 11:16934-16943. [PMID: 30983312 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.9b03160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
We report on a simple approach for in-channel functionalization of a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) surface to obtain a switchable and reversible wettability change between hydrophilic and hydrophobic states. The thermally responsive polymer, poly( N-Isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), was grafted on the surface of PDMS channels by UV-induced surface grafting. PNIPAAm-grafted PDMS (PNIPAAm-g-PDMS) surface wettability can be thermally tuned to obtain water contact angles varying in the range of 24.3 to 106.1° by varying temperature at 25-38 °C. By selectively modifying the functionalized area in the microfluidic channels, multiform emulsion droplets of oil-in-water (O/W), water-in-oil (W/O), oil-in-water-in-oil (O/W/O), and water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) could be created on-demand. Combining solid surface wettability and liquid-liquid interfacial properties, tunable generation of O/W and W/O droplet and stratified flows were enabled in the same microfluidic device with either different or the same two-phase fluidic systems, by properly heating/cooling thermal-responsive microfluidic channels and choosing suitable surfactants. Controllable creation of O/W/O and W/O/W droplets was also achieved in the same microfluidic device, by locally heating or cooling the droplet generation areas with integrated electric heaters to achieve opposite surface wettability. Hollow microcapsules were prepared using double emulsion droplets as templates in the microfluidic device with sequential hydrophobic and hydrophilic channel segments, demonstrating the strength of the proposed approach in practical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lanhui Li
- BIOS/Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology , University of Twente , Enschede 7500AE , The Netherlands
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Albert van den Berg
- BIOS/Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology , University of Twente , Enschede 7500AE , The Netherlands
| | - Jan C T Eijkel
- BIOS/Lab on a Chip Group, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology , University of Twente , Enschede 7500AE , The Netherlands
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11
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Chao Y, Mak SY, Rahman S, Zhu S, Shum HC. Generation of High-Order All-Aqueous Emulsion Drops by Osmosis-Driven Phase Separation. SMALL (WEINHEIM AN DER BERGSTRASSE, GERMANY) 2018; 14:e1802107. [PMID: 30118584 DOI: 10.1002/smll.201802107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2018] [Revised: 07/28/2018] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Droplets containing ternary mixtures can spontaneously phase-separate into high-order structures upon a change in composition, which provides an alternative strategy to form multiphase droplets. However, existing strategies always involve nonaqueous solvents that limit the potential applications of the resulting multiple droplets, such as encapsulation of biomolecules. Here, a robust approach to achieve high-order emulsion drops with an all-aqueous nature from two aqueous phases by osmosis-induced phase separation on a microfluidic platform is presented. This technique is enabled by the existence of an interface of the two aqueous phases and phase separation caused by an osmolality difference between the two phases. The complexity of emulsion drops induced by phase separation could be controlled by varying the initial concentration of solutes and is systematically illustrated in a state diagram. In particular, this technique is utilized to successfully achieve high-order all-aqueous droplets in a different aqueous two-phase system. The proposed method is simple since it only requires two initial aqueous solutions for generating multilayered, organic-solvent-free all-aqueous emulsion drops, and thus these multiphase emulsion drops can be further tailored to serve as highly biocompatible material templates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Youchuang Chao
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
- HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China
| | - Sze Yi Mak
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
- HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China
| | - Shakurur Rahman
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shipei Zhu
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
| | - Ho Cheung Shum
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, Hong Kong, China
- HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation (HKU-SIRI), Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518000, China
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12
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Wu Q, Yang C, Liu G, Xu W, Zhu Z, Si T, Xu RX. Multiplex coaxial flow focusing for producing multicompartment Janus microcapsules with tunable material compositions and structural characteristics. LAB ON A CHIP 2017; 17:3168-3175. [PMID: 28812769 DOI: 10.1039/c7lc00769h] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We propose a simple but efficient multiplex coaxial flow focusing (MCFF) process for single-step fabrication of multicompartment Janus microcapsules (MJMs) in a wide range of operating parameters. The produced MJMs consist of a multicompartmental core-shell structure with material compositions tunable in individual shell and core compartments. Potential applications of such a MJM agent are demonstrated in both benchtop and in vitro experiments. For the benchtop experiment, magnetic nanoparticles are loaded into one of the shell compartments and photopolymerized under ultraviolet light for controlled alignment and rotation of the microcapsules in a magnetic field. For the in vitro experiment, four different types of cells are encapsulated in the desired compartments of sodium alginate MJMs and co-cultured for seven days. By increasing the number of coaxial needles, we are also able to produce MJMs with three or more compartments. Our studies have shown that the proposed MCFF process is able to produce MJMs with desired material compositions and narrow size distribution. This process is inexpensive and scalable for mass production of various MJMs in its potential applications in biomedical imaging, drug delivery, and regenerative medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiang Wu
- Department of Precision Machinery and Precision Instrumentation, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026, PR China
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Abstract
Droplet microfluidics generates and manipulates discrete droplets through immiscible multiphase flows inside microchannels. Due to its remarkable advantages, droplet microfluidics bears significant value in an extremely wide range of area. In this review, we provide a comprehensive and in-depth insight into droplet microfluidics, covering fundamental research from microfluidic chip fabrication and droplet generation to the applications of droplets in bio(chemical) analysis and materials generation. The purpose of this review is to convey the fundamentals of droplet microfluidics, a critical analysis on its current status and challenges, and opinions on its future development. We believe this review will promote communications among biology, chemistry, physics, and materials science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luoran Shang
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University , Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Yao Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University , Nanjing 210096, China
| | - Yuanjin Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University , Nanjing 210096, China
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14
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Nabavi SA, Vladisavljević GT, Gu S, Manović V. Semipermeable Elastic Microcapsules for Gas Capture and Sensing. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2016; 32:9826-9835. [PMID: 27592513 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.6b02420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Monodispersed microcapsules for gas capture and sensing were developed consisting of elastic semipermeable polymer shells of tunable size and thickness and pH-sensitive, gas selective liquid cores. The microcapsules were produced using glass capillary microfluidics and continuous on-the-fly photopolymerization. The inner fluid was 5-30 wt % K2CO3 solution with m-cresol purple, the middle fluid was a UV-curable liquid silicon rubber containing 0-2 wt % Dow Corning 749 fluid, and the outer fluid was aqueous solution containing 60-70 wt % glycerol and 0.5-2 wt % stabilizer (poly(vinyl alcohol), Tween 20, or Pluronic F-127). An analytical model was developed and validated for prediction of the morphology of the capsules under osmotic stress based on the shell properties and the osmolarity of the storage and core solutions. The minimum energy density and UV light irradiance needed to achieve complete shell polymerization were 2 J·cm(-2) and 13.8 mW·cm(-2), respectively. After UV exposure, the curing time for capsules containing 0.5 wt % Dow Corning 749 fluid in the middle phase was 30-40 min. The CO2 capture capacity of 30 wt % K2CO3 capsules was 1.6-2 mmol/g depending on the capsule size and shell thickness. A cavitation bubble was observed in the core when the internal water was abruptly removed by capillary suction, whereas a gradual evaporation of internal water led to buckling of the shell. The shell was characterized using TGA, DSC, and FTIR. The shell degradation temperature was 450-460 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyed Ali Nabavi
- Combustion and CCS Centre, Cranfield University , Cranfield, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
| | - Goran T Vladisavljević
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Loughborough University , Loughborough LE11 3TU, United Kingdom
| | - Sai Gu
- Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Surrey , Guildford GU2 7XH, United Kingdom
| | - Vasilije Manović
- Combustion and CCS Centre, Cranfield University , Cranfield, MK43 0AL, United Kingdom
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Lee TY, Choi TM, Shim TS, Frijns RAM, Kim SH. Microfluidic production of multiple emulsions and functional microcapsules. LAB ON A CHIP 2016; 16:3415-40. [PMID: 27470590 DOI: 10.1039/c6lc00809g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 117] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in microfluidics have enabled the controlled production of multiple-emulsion drops with onion-like topology. The multiple-emulsion drops possess an intrinsic core-shell geometry, which makes them useful as templates to create microcapsules with a solid membrane. High flexibility in the selection of materials and hierarchical order, achieved by microfluidic technologies, has provided versatility in the membrane properties and microcapsule functions. The microcapsules are now designed not just for storage and release of encapsulants but for sensing microenvironments, developing structural colours, and many other uses. This article reviews the current state of the art in the microfluidic-based production of multiple-emulsion drops and functional microcapsules. The three main sections of this paper discuss distinct microfluidic techniques developed for the generation of multiple emulsions, four representative methods used for solid membrane formation, and various applications of functional microcapsules. Finally, we outline the current limitations and future perspectives of microfluidics and microcapsules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tae Yong Lee
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon, South Korea.
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