title: Continuous flow generation of magnetoliposomes in a low-cost portable microfluidic platform.
abstract: We present a low-cost, portable microfluidic platform that uses laminated polymethylmethacrylate chips, peristaltic micropumps and LEGO® Mindstorms components for the generation of magnetoliposomes that does not require extrusion steps. Mixtures of lipids reconstituted in ethanol and an aqueous phase were injected independently in order to generate a combination of laminar flows in such a way that we could effectively achieve four hydrodynamic focused nanovesicle generation streams. Monodisperse magnetoliposomes with characteristics comparable to those obtained by traditional methods have been obtained. The magnetoliposomes are responsive to external magnetic field gradients, a result that suggests that the nanovesicles can be used in research and applications in nanomedicine.
authors.affiliation: LAMEIN, Departamento de Bioingeniería, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán/Instituto Superior de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Av. Independencia 1800, Tucumán, Argentina. aconde@herrera.unt.edu.ar.
authors.forename: Alvaro J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Conde
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Batalla
authors.forename: Belén
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cerda
authors.forename: Olga
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Mykhaylyk
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Plank
authors.forename: Osvaldo
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Podhajcer
authors.forename: Juan M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Cabaleiro
authors.forename: Rossana E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Madrid
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Policastro
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D004867:Equipment Design; D000431:Ethanol; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D008055:Lipids / Q000737:chemistry; D008081:Liposomes / Q000737:chemistry*; D059346:Magnets / Q000737:chemistry*; D046210:Microfluidic Analytical Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D053758:Nanoparticles / Q000737:chemistry; D009391:Nephelometry and Turbidimetry
chemical_list: D008055:Lipids; D008081:Liposomes; D000431:Ethanol