Production of Monodisperse Oil-in-Water Droplets and Polymeric Microspheres Below 20 μm Using a PDMS-Based Step Emulsification Device.

ABSTRACT: Step emulsification (SE) is renowned for its robustness in generating monodisperse emulsion droplets at arrayed nozzles. However, few studies have explored poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS)-based SE devices for producing monodisperse oil-in-water (O/W) droplets and polymeric microspheres with diameters below 20 µm-materials with broad applicability. In this study, we present a PDMS-based microfluidic SE device designed to achieve this goal. Two devices with 264 nozzles each were fabricated, featuring straight and triangular nozzle configurations, both with a height of 4 µm and a minimum width of 10 µm. The devices were rendered hydrophilic via oxygen plasma treatment. A photocurable acrylate monomer served as the dispersed phase, while an aqueous polyvinyl alcohol solution acted as the continu

SUBMITTER: Tottori N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11857107 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature