title: Biocompatible surfactants for water-in-fluorocarbon emulsions.
abstract: Drops of water-in-fluorocarbon emulsions have great potential for compartmentalizing both in vitro and in vivo biological systems; however, surfactants to stabilize such emulsions are scarce. Here we present a novel class of fluorosurfactants that we synthesize by coupling oligomeric perfluorinated polyethers (PFPE) with polyethyleneglycol (PEG). We demonstrate that these block copolymer surfactants stabilize water-in-fluorocarbon oil emulsions during all necessary steps of a drop-based experiment including drop formation, incubation, and reinjection into a second microfluidic device. Furthermore, we show that aqueous drops stabilized with these surfactants can be used for in vitro translation (IVT), as well as encapsulation and incubation of single cells. The compatability of this emulsion system with both biological systems and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices makes these surfactants ideal for a broad range of high-throughput, drop-based applications.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Holtze
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Rowat
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Agresti
authors.forename: J B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Hutchison
authors.forename: F E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Angilè
authors.forename: C H J
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Schmitz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Köster
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: K J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Humphry
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Scanga
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pisignano
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Weitz
mesh_terms: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004655:Emulsions; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000737:chemistry*; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000737:chemistry; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D004655:Emulsions; D005466:Fluorocarbons; D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D014867:Water; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols