title: Fine control over the size of surfactant-polyelectrolyte nanoparticles by hydrodynamic flow focusing.
abstract: Synthesis of surfactant-polyelectrolyte nanoparticles was carried out in a microfluidic device with a fine control over the size and the polydispersity. An anionic polysaccharide (sodium carboxymethylcellulose, CMC) solution was focused using a cationic surfactant (dodecyl trimethylammonium bromide, DTAB) solution in a microfluidic channel at selected ratios of flow rates and reagent concentrations. The methodology ensured a controlled mixing kinetics and a uniform distribution of charges at the mixing interface. The resulting nanoparticles exhibited remarkably well-defined and repeatable size distributions, with hydrodynamic diameters tunable from 50 up to 300 nm and polydispersity index around 0.1 in most cases. Microfluidic-assisted self-assembly may be an efficient way to produce well-controlled polyelectrolyte-based nanoparticles suitable for colloidal science as well as for gene delivery applications.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, 91405 Orsay, France. guillaume.tresset@u-psud.fr
authors.forename: Guillaume
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tresset
authors.forename: Catalin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marculescu
authors.forename: Anniina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salonen
authors.forename: Ming
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.forename: Ciprian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Iliescu
mesh_terms: D002266:Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium / Q000737:chemistry*; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry*; D010316:Particle Size; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D002266:Carboxymethylcellulose Sodium