Gultekinoglu, M; Jiang, X; Bayram, C; Ulubayram, K; Edirisinghe, M; (2018) Honeycomb-like PLGA-b-PEG Structure Creation with T-Junction Microdroplets. Langmuir , 34 (27) pp. 7989-7997. 10.1021/acs.langmuir.8b00886.

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Abstract

Amphiphilic block copolymers are widely used in science owing to their versatile properties. In this study, amphiphilic block copolymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PLGA-b-PEG) was used to create microdroplets in a T-junction microfluidic device with a well-defined geometry. To compare interfacial characteristics of microdroplets, dichloromethane (DCM) and chloroform were used to prepare PLGA-b-PEG solution as an oil phase. In the T-junction device, water and oil phases were manipulated at variable flow rates from 50 to 300 μL/min by increments of 50 μL/min. Fabricated microdroplets were directly collected on a glass slide. After a drying period, porous two-dimensional and three-dimensional structures were obtained as honeycomb-like structure. Pore sizes were increased according to increased water/oil flow rate for both DCM and chloroform solutions. Also, it was shown that increasing polymer concentration decreased the pore size of honeycomb-like structures at a constant water/oil flow rate (50:50 μL/min). Additionally, PLGA-b-PEG nanoparticles were also obtained on the struts of honeycomb-like structures according to the water solubility, volatility, and viscosity properties of oil phases, by the aid of Marangoni flow. The resulting structures have a great potential to be used in biomedical applications, especially in drug delivery-related studies, with nanoparticle forming ability and cellular responses in different surface morphologies.

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