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Compound‐Droplet‐Pairs‐Filled Hydrogel Microfiber for Electric‐Field‐Induced Selective Release
Author(s) -
Deng Xiaokang,
Ren Yukun,
Hou Likai,
Liu Weiyu,
Jiang Tianyi,
Jiang Hongyuan
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
small
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.785
H-Index - 236
eISSN - 1613-6829
pISSN - 1613-6810
DOI - 10.1002/smll.201903098
Subject(s) - microfiber , materials science , electric field , microfluidics , nanotechnology , controlled release , microcarrier , conductivity , fabrication , composite material , chemistry , cell , medicine , biochemistry , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics
The separate co‐encapsulation and selective controlled release of multiple encapsulants in a predetermined sequence has potentially important applications for drug delivery and tissue engineering. However, the selective controlled release of distinct contents upon one triggering event for most existing microcarriers still remains challenging. Here, novel microfluidic fabrication of compound‐droplet‐pairs‐filled hydrogel microfibers (C‐Fibers) is presented for two‐step selective controlled release under AC electric field. The parallel arranged compound droplets enable the separate co‐encapsulation of distinct contents in a single microfiber, and the release sequence is guaranteed by the discrepancy of the shell thickness or core conductivity of the encapsulated droplets. This is demonstrated by using a high‐frequency electric field to trigger the first burst release of droplets with higher conductivity or thinner shell, followed by the second release of the other droplets under low‐frequency electric field. The reported C‐Fibers provide novel multidelivery system for a wide range of applications that require controlled release of multiple ingredients in a prescribed sequence.