A microfluidic chip using phenol formaldehyde resin for uniform-sized polycaprolactone and chitosan microparticle generation

Molecules. 2013 Jun 3;18(6):6521-31. doi: 10.3390/molecules18066521.

Abstract

This study develops a new solvent-compatible microfluidic chip based on phenol formaldehyde resin (PFR). In addition to its solvent-resistant characteristics, this microfluidic platform also features easy fabrication, organization, decomposition for cleaning, and reusability compared with conventional chips. Both solvent-dependent (e.g., polycaprolactone) and nonsolvent-dependent (e.g., chitosan) microparticles were successfully prepared. The size of emulsion droplets could be easily adjusted by tuning the flow rates of the dispersed/continuous phases. After evaporation, polycaprolactone microparticles ranging from 29.3 to 62.7 μm and chitosan microparticles ranging from 215.5 to 566.3 μm were obtained with a 10% relative standard deviation in size. The proposed PFR microfluidic platform has the advantages of active control of the particle size with a narrow size distribution as well as a simple and low cost process with a high throughput.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Chitosan / chemistry*
  • Emulsions
  • Formaldehyde / chemistry*
  • Microfluidic Analytical Techniques
  • Microfluidics / methods*
  • Microspheres*
  • Particle Size
  • Phenols / chemistry*
  • Polyesters / chemistry*
  • Polymers / chemistry*

Substances

  • Emulsions
  • Phenols
  • Polyesters
  • Polymers
  • Formaldehyde
  • polycaprolactone
  • phenol-formaldehyde resin
  • Chitosan