Issue 7, 2006

Manipulating the generation of Ca-alginate microspheres using microfluidic channels as a carrier of gold nanoparticles

Abstract

In this paper the manipulation of Ca-alginate microspheres, using a microfluidic chip, for the encapsulation of gold nanoparticles is presented. Our strategy is based on hydrodynamic-focusing on the forming of a series of self-assembling sphere structures, the so-called water-in-oil (w/o) emulsions, in the cross-junction microchannel. These fine emulsions, consisting of aqueous Na-alginates, are then dripped into a solution of 20% calcium salt to accomplish Ca-alginate microspheres in an efficient manner. Experimental data show that microspheres with diameters ranging from 50 µm to 2000 µm with a variation less than 5% were precisely generated. The size and gap of the droplets are tunable by adjusting the relative sheath/sample flow rate ratio. Furthermore, we applied them to encapsulated gold nanoparticles, and this one shot operation performs the ‘Lab on a Chip’.

Graphical abstract: Manipulating the generation of Ca-alginate microspheres using microfluidic channels as a carrier of gold nanoparticles

Article information

Article type
Technical Note
Submitted
05 May 2006
Accepted
08 May 2006
First published
18 May 2006

Lab Chip, 2006,6, 954-957

Manipulating the generation of Ca-alginate microspheres using microfluidic channels as a carrier of gold nanoparticles

K. Huang, T. Lai and Y. Lin, Lab Chip, 2006, 6, 954 DOI: 10.1039/B606424H

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