A microfluidic tubing method and its application for controlled synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles.

This report describes a straightforward but robust tubing method for connecting polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microfluidic devices to external equipment. The interconnection is irreversible and can sustain a pressure of up to 4.5 MPa that is characterized experimentally and theoretically. To demonstrate applications of this high-pressure tubing technique, we fabricate a semicircular microfluidic channel to implement a high-throughput, size-controlled synthesis of poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) nanoparticles ranging from 55 to 135 nm in diameter. This microfluidic device allows for a total flow rate of 410 mL h(-1), resulting in enhanced convective mixing which can be utilized to precipitate small size nanoparticles with a good dispersion. We expect that this tubing technique would be widely used in microfluidic chips for nanoparticle synthesis, cell manipulation, and potentially nanofluidic applications.

[1]  Kevin Barraclough,et al.  I and i , 2001, BMJ : British Medical Journal.

[2]  Guoqing Hu,et al.  A microfluidic origami chip for synthesis of functionalized polymeric nanoparticles. , 2013, Nanoscale.

[3]  Andreas Manz,et al.  Latest developments in micro total analysis systems. , 2010, Analytical chemistry.

[4]  Jiashu Sun,et al.  Microfluidics for manipulating cells. , 2013, Small.

[5]  Z Hugh Fan,et al.  Macro-to-micro interfaces for microfluidic devices. , 2004, Lab on a chip.

[6]  Aaas News,et al.  Book Reviews , 1893, Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal.

[7]  D. Di Carlo,et al.  Rapid prototyping polymers for microfluidic devices and high pressure injections. , 2011, Lab on a chip.

[8]  Robert Langer,et al.  Microfluidic platform for controlled synthesis of polymeric nanoparticles. , 2008, Nano letters.

[9]  Tingrui Pan,et al.  Fit-to-Flow (F2F) interconnects: universal reversible adhesive-free microfluidic adaptors for lab-on-a-chip systems. , 2011, Lab on a chip.

[10]  Chao Liu,et al.  Double spiral microchannel for label-free tumor cell separation and enrichment. , 2012, Lab on a chip.

[11]  Ian Papautsky,et al.  Re-usable quick-release interconnect for characterization of microfluidic systems , 2006 .

[12]  B. Kirby.  Micro- and nanoscale fluid mechanics : transport in microfluidic devices , 2010 .

[13]  Kang Sun,et al.  Recent developments employing new materials for readout in lab-on-a-chip , 2010 .

[14]  Andreas Schmid,et al.  A rapid, reliable, and automatable lab-on-a-chip interface. , 2009, Lab on a chip.

[15]  Jiashu Sun,et al.  Measurement of the volume growth rate of single budding yeast with the MOSFET-based microfluidic Coulter counter. , 2010, Lab on a chip.

[16]  Albert Folch,et al.  A microfluidic D-subminiature connector. , 2013, Lab on a chip.

[17]  Elisabeth Wilhelm,et al.  Connecting microfluidic chips using a chemically inert, reversible, multichannel chip-to-world-interface. , 2013, Lab on a chip.

[18]  Roland Zengerle,et al.  Microfluidic platforms for lab-on-a-chip applications. , 2007, Lab on a chip.

[19]  Xingyu Jiang,et al.  Size-based hydrodynamic rare tumor cell separation in curved microfluidic channels. , 2013, Biomicrofluidics.

[20]  A. Christensen,et al.  Characterization of interconnects used in PDMS microfluidic systems , 2005 .

[21]  Thomas Gervais,et al.  Flow-induced deformation of shallow microfluidic channels. , 2006, Lab on a chip.