Controllable microfluidic production of multicomponent multiple emulsions.

A hierarchical and scalable microfluidic device constructed from a combination of three building blocks enables highly controlled generation of multicomponent multiple emulsions. The number, ratio and size of droplets, each with distinct contents being independently co-encapsulated in the same level, can be precisely controlled. The building blocks are a drop maker, a connector and a liquid extractor; combinations of these enable the scale-up of the device to create higher-order multicomponent multiple emulsions with exceptionally diverse structures. These multicomponent multiple emulsions offer a versatile and promising platform for precise encapsulation of incompatible actives or chemicals, for synergistic delivery and biochemical and chemical reactions, and for engineering multicompartment materials with controlled internal phases.

[1]  Wilhelm T S Huck,et al.  Hydrophilic PDMS microchannels for high-throughput formation of oil-in-water microdroplets and water-in-oil-in-water double emulsions. , 2010, Lab on a chip.

[2]  Toru Torii,et al.  Controlled production of monodisperse double emulsions by two-step droplet breakup in microfluidic devices. , 2004, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[3]  Gerald Muschiolik,et al.  Multiple emulsions for food use , 2007 .

[4]  M. Shimizu,et al.  Particle control of emulsion by membrane emulsification and its applications. , 2000, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[5]  Wei Wang,et al.  A novel thermo-induced self-bursting microcapsule with magnetic-targeting property. , 2009, Chemphyschem : a European journal of chemical physics and physical chemistry.

[6]  D. Beebe,et al.  Controlled microfluidic interfaces , 2005, Nature.

[7]  R. H. ENGEL,et al.  Insulin: Intestinal Absorption as Water-in-Oil-in-Water Emulsions , 1968, Nature.

[8]  Henrik Bruus,et al.  Equilibrium and nonequilibrium states in microfluidic double emulsions. , 2008, Physical review letters.

[9]  S Higashi,et al.  Hepatic arterial injection chemotherapy for hepatocellular carcinoma with epirubicin aqueous solution as numerous vesicles in iodinated poppy-seed oil microdroplets: clinical application of water-in-oil-in-water emulsion prepared using a membrane emulsification technique. , 2000, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[10]  D. Weitz,et al.  Monodisperse Double Emulsions Generated from a Microcapillary Device , 2005, Science.

[11]  P. Sheng,et al.  Microfluidic fabrication of porous polymer microspheres: dual reactions in single droplets. , 2009, Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids.

[12]  Liang-Yin Chu,et al.  Smart thermo-triggered squirting capsules for nanoparticle delivery , 2010 .

[13]  R. Rosenfeld.  Nature , 2009, Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

[14]  Elazer R. Edelman,et al.  Adv. Drug Delivery Rev. , 1997 .

[15]  A. Abate,et al.  Microfluidic Assembly of Magnetic Hydrogel Particles with Uniformly Anisotropic Structure , 2009 .

[16]  M. Nakano.  Places of emulsions in drug delivery. , 2000, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[17]  Y. Kita,et al.  An attempt at preparing water-in-oil-in-water multiple-phase emulsions , 1976 .

[18]  J. Weiss,et al.  Polysaccharide gel with multiple emulsion , 2005 .

[19]  G. Whitesides.  The origins and the future of microfluidics , 2006, Nature.

[20]  A. Abate,et al.  High-order multiple emulsions formed in poly(dimethylsiloxane) microfluidics. , 2009, Small.

[21]  M Nakano,et al.  Preparation and evaluation of w/o/w type emulsions containing vancomycin. , 2000, Advanced drug delivery reviews.

[22]  Minseok Seo,et al.  Polymer particles with various shapes and morphologies produced in continuous microfluidic reactors. , 2005, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[23]  Minseok Seo,et al.  Microfluidic consecutive flow-focusing droplet generators. , 2007, Soft matter.

[24]  T. Nisisako,et al.  Controlled formulation of monodisperse double emulsions in a multiple-phase microfluidic system. , 2005, Soft matter.

[25]  Seung-Man Yang,et al.  Optofluidic encapsulation of crystalline colloidal arrays into spherical membrane. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[26]  R. K. Shah,et al.  Monodisperse Thermoresponsive Microgels with Tunable Volume‐Phase Transition Kinetics , 2007 .

[27]  Ho Cheung Shum,et al.  Microfluidic melt emulsification for encapsulation and release of actives. , 2010, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[28]  M. Márquez,et al.  Micro/Nano Encapsulation via Electrified Coaxial Liquid Jets , 2002, Science.

[29]  S. Bae,et al.  Preparation of Silica Particles Encapsulating Retinol Using O/W/O Multiple Emulsions. , 2001, Journal of colloid and interface science.

[30]  Younan Xia,et al.  Fabrication of Microbeads with a Controllable Hollow Interior and Porous Wall Using a Capillary Fluidic Device , 2009, Advanced functional materials.

[31]  Yanlin Song,et al.  One-step multicomponent encapsulation by compound-fluidic electrospray. , 2008, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[32]  Liang-Yin Chu,et al.  Controllable monodisperse multiple emulsions. , 2007, Angewandte Chemie.

[33]  Sebastian Seiffert,et al.  Smart microgel capsules from macromolecular precursors. , 2010, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[34]  David A. Weitz,et al.  Double Emulsion Droplets as Microreactors for Synthesis of Mesoporous Hydroxyapatite , 2009 .