title: Evaluation of continuous flow nanosphere formation by controlled microfluidic transport.
abstract: Improved size monodispersity of populations of polymer nanospheres is of enormous interest in the fields of nanotechnology and nanomedicine. As such, the knowledge of exact experimental conditions for precise production of nanospheres is needed for nonaqueous systems. This work presents the use of controlled microfluidic transport methods to study the experimental parameters for fabricating nanoparticles utilizing phase inversion. We report two microfluidic methods for forming polymer nanospheres in small batches to determine the formation conditions. These conditions were then implemented to perform higher throughput formation of polymer nanospheres of the desired size. The controlled microfluidic environment in the laminar flow regime produces improved size monodispersity, decreased average diameter, and affords a greater degree of control over the nanosphere size distribution without adding surfactants or additional solvents. Experiments show a nonlinear trend toward decreasing size with decreasing polymer concentration and a linear trend toward decreasing size with increasing flow rate indicating time-course-dependent nucleation and growth mechanism of formation for the resultant nanosphere population within the range of conditions tested.
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular Pharmacology, and Division of Engineering and Medical Science, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island 02912, USA.
authors.forename: Bryan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Laulicht
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cheifetz
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mathiowitz
authors.forename: Anubhav
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tripathi
mesh_terms: D002627:Chemistry, Physical / Q000379:methods; D004337:Drug Carriers; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D044085:Microfluidics; D015233:Models, Statistical; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D054118:Nanospheres / Q000737:chemistry*; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D010316:Particle Size; D011108:Polymers / Q000737:chemistry; D012997:Solvents / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties
chemical_list: D004337:Drug Carriers; D011108:Polymers; D012997:Solvents