Preparation of Poly(vinyl alcohol) Microspheres Based on Droplet Microfluidic Technology

Publication date: August 2018Source: Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry, Volume 46, Issue 8Author(s): Xian-Wei HAN, Hong-Wu ZHANG, Hong-Yan LUO, Xiao-Lin ZHENG, Zhong YANG, Ning HU, Yan-Jian LIAO, Jun YANGAbstractA new method for preparing poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) microspheres was developed by using droplet microfluidic technology. In the microfluidic chip, a large number of uniform, monodispersed PVA droplets were prepared quickly and continuously by using droplet formation technology, and the droplet preparation speed reached 7 per second. The size of the PVA droplets could be controlled by changing the injection flow rate of the two-phase fluid and the width of microfluidic channel. Then the PVA microspheres were formed by physical crosslinking. This method has high preparation efficiency and good monodispersity of the obtained microspheres. Moreover, the process does not require the incorporation of chemical crosslinking agents, avoiding interference with the inclusion material, and is well suited for applications such as drug carrier.Graphical AbstractPolyvinyl alcohol droplets were prepared by the interaction of aqueous phase (poly(vinyl alcohol) in aqueous solution) and oil phase on the Y type microfluidic chip, and thawed after freezing at −80 °C. The crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) microspheres could be obtained by repeated three times freezing/thawing physical crosslinking.
Source: Chinese Journal of Analytical Chemistry - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research