Generation of micro-sized PDMS particles by a flow focusing technique for biomicrofluidics applications
Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), due to its remarkable properties, is one of the most widely used polymers in many industrial and medical applications. In this work, a technique based on a flow focusing technique is used to produce PDMS spherical particles with sizes of a few microns. PDMS precursor is...
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Published in | Biomicrofluidics Vol. 10; no. 1; p. 014122 |
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Main Authors | , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
American Institute of Physics
01.01.2016
AIP Publishing LLC |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Polydimethylsiloxane
(PDMS), due to its
remarkable properties, is one of the most widely used polymers in many industrial and
medical applications. In this work, a technique based on a flow focusing technique
is used to produce PDMS spherical particles with sizes of a few microns. PDMS precursor is injected
through a hypodermic needle to form a film/reservoir over the needle's outer surface. This
film flows
towards the needle tip until a liquid ligament is steadily ejected thanks to the action of
a coflowing viscous liquid stream. The outcome is a capillary jet which breaks up
into PDMS
precursor droplets due to the growth of capillary waves producing a micrometer
emulsion. The
PDMS liquid
droplets in the solution are thermally cured into solid microparticles. The size
distribution of the particles is analyzed before and after curing, showing an acceptable
degree of monodispersity. The PDMS liquid droplets suffer shrinkage while curing. These
microparticles can be used in very varied technological fields, such as biomedicine,
biotechnology, pharmacy, and industrial engineering. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic mail: ejvega@unex.es. Tel.: +34-924-289600. Fax: +34-924-289601. |
ISSN: | 1932-1058 1932-1058 |
DOI: | 10.1063/1.4943007 |