Effect of the gelation process on the production of alginate microbeads by microfluidic chip technology.
The present paper reports the production of Ba-alginate microspheres by microfluidic chip technology. The general production strategy is based on the formation of an alginate multiphase flow by a 'Y' junction squeezing mechanism. Special emphasis is given to the relationship existing between the gelation process and the final morphological characteristics of the produced microbeads. A series of different gelation strategies, namely: 'external gelation', 'internal gelation' and 'partial gelation' were compared in terms of size, size distribution and morphology of the produced microbeads.
Capretto
Lorenzo
L
Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologia del Farmaco, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Via del Liceo 1, 06100, Perugia, Italy.
Mazzitelli
Stefania
S
Balestra
Cosimo
C
Tosi
Azzura
A
Nastruzzi
Claudio
C
D000464:Alginates / Q000138:chemical synthesis* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005782:Gels / Q000737:chemistry*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D008863:Microspheres; D010316:Particle Size; D010784:Photomicrography / Q000379:methods
D000464:Alginates; D005782:Gels