Microcapsules with a permeable hydrogel shell and an aqueous core continuously produced in a 3D microdevice by all-aqueous microfluidics

Microcapsules with a permeable hydrogel shell and an aqueous core continuously produced in a 3D microdevice by all-aqueous microfluidics

Mytnyk, S. (TU Delft ChemE/Advanced Soft Matter)
Ziemecka, I. (TU Delft ChemE/Advanced Soft Matter)
Olive, A.G.L. (TU Delft ChemE/Advanced Soft Matter)
Totlani, K. (TU Delft ChemE/Product and Process Engineering)
Oldenhof, S. (TU Delft ChemE/Advanced Soft Matter; Netherlands Forensic Institute - NFI)
Kreutzer, M.T. (TU Delft ChemE/Chemical Engineering)
van Steijn, V. (TU Delft ChemE/Product and Process Engineering)
van Esch, J.H. (TU Delft ChemE/Advanced Soft Matter)
van der Meer, J.W.M.

ChemE/Chemical Engineering

2017

We report the continuous production of microcapsules composed of an aqueous core and permeable hydrogel shell, made stable by the controlled photo-cross-linking of the shell of an all-aqueous double emulsion. While most previous work on water-based emulsions focused on active droplet formation, here double emulsion droplets were spontaneously generated at a three-dimensional flow-focusing junction through the break-up of a double jet formed by immiscible aqueous solutions of polyethylene glycol and cross-linkable dextrans. The capsules obtained with this lipid-free, organic-solvent-free, and surfactant-free approach displayed excellent stability under a variety of harsh conditions (3 <pH <13, high salinity). Drying and rehydration experiments demonstrate the permeability of the shell, which may enable molecular-weight-dependent release and uptake of polar solutes.

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:88ee89b4-3f9d-4489-ba59-f27a840b923b

https://doi.org/10.1039/c7ra00452d

2046-2069

RSC Advances, 7 (19), 11331-11337

Institutional Repository

journal article

© 2017 S. Mytnyk, I. Ziemecka, A.G.L. Olive, K. Totlani, S. Oldenhof, M.T. Kreutzer, V. van Steijn, J.H. van Esch, J.W.M. van der Meer