Microfluidic-based synthesis of non-spherical magnetic hydrogel microparticles.
Spherical and non-spherical magnetic hydrogel particles were synthesized in a microfluidic device containing an embedded UV light reflector. Monodisperse magnetic emulsion droplets were generated in a T-junction and allowed to relax into spheres, disks, and plugs in confining microchannel geometries. Particle morphology was locked-in via UV-initiated photopolymerization. The role of the reflector in the microchannel is to provide a uniform distribution of UV energy to the magnetic emulsion droplets and to increase the UV flux, which significantly improves UV polymerization conditions for microfluidic-based particle synthesis. Magnetic nanoparticles were uniformly encapsulated in the hydrogel, giving the microparticles superparamagnetic behavior. Additionally, the non-spherical particles show anisotropic responses under an applied external magnetic field.
Hwang
Dae Kun
DK
Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Dendukuri
Dhananjay
D
Doyle
Patrick S
PS