Surfactant-free, UV-curable core–shell microcapsules in a hydrophilic PDMS microfluidic device

We demonstrate a method to create surfactant-free core–shell microcapsules in a hydrophilic polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic device. An ultraviolet light curable polymer was used to encapsulate an oil core. These microcapsules ensure contamination-free compartmentation of the core material without...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adrian J. T. Teo, Fariba Malekpour-galogahi, Kamalalayam Rajan Sreejith, Takayuki Takei, Nam-Trung Nguyen
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AIP Publishing LLC 2020-06-01
Series:AIP Advances
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0004736
Description
Summary:We demonstrate a method to create surfactant-free core–shell microcapsules in a hydrophilic polydimethylsiloxane microfluidic device. An ultraviolet light curable polymer was used to encapsulate an oil core. These microcapsules ensure contamination-free compartmentation of the core material without any surfactant, while maintaining the monodispersed generation at a rate of 100 microcapsules per second. The device fabrication process is greatly simplified without the alignment of microchannels and hydrophobic/hydrophilic surface treatment. After drying, physically shaking the collection chamber can crack the capsule to release the liquid core material. Such solid microcapsules with a liquid core are ideal for the storage and delivery of oil-based materials in skincare products or reagents for biochemical assays.
ISSN:2158-3226