Open AccessMicrofluidic On-Chip Production of Alginate Hydrogels Using Double Coflow Geometry
Author(s) -
Amirmohammad Sattari,
Sajjad Janfaza,
Mohsen Mashhadi Keshtiban,
Nishat Tasnim,
Pedram Hanafizadeh,
Mina Hoorfar
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acs omega
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 40
ISSN - 2470-1343
DOI - 10.1021/acsomega.1c02728
Subject(s) - microfluidics , materials science , self healing hydrogels , nanotechnology , aqueous solution , aqueous two phase system , clogging , microfluidic chip , chemical engineering , phase (matter) , chip , chemistry , polymer chemistry , computer science , telecommunications , archaeology , organic chemistry , engineering , history
Microfluidic on-chip production of microgels employing external gelation has numerous biological and pharmaceutical applications, particularly for the encapsulation of delicate cargos; however, the on-chip production of microgels in microfluidic devices can be challenging due to problems such as clogging caused by accelerated progress in precursor solution viscosity. Here, we introduce a novel microfluidic design incorporating two consecutive coflow geometries for microfluidic droplet generation. A shielding oil phase is employed to avoid emulsification and gelation stages from occurring simultaneously, thereby preventing clogging. The results revealed that the microfluidic device could generate highly monodispersed spherical droplets (coefficient of variation < 3%) with an average diameter in the range of 60-200 μm. Additionally, it was demonstrated that the device could appropriately create a shelter of the oil phase around the inner aqueous phase regardless of the droplet formation regime and flow conditions. The ability of the proposed microfluidic device in the generation of microgels was validated by producing alginate microgels utilizing an aqueous solution of calcium chloride as the continuous phase.