Fabrication of Polymersomes using Microfluidic Devices
type: CreativeWork
description: The fabrication of diblock copolymer vesicles, so-called polymersomes, from poly(2-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (P2VP-b-PEG) and poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactid acid) (PEG-b-PLA) by means of microfluidics is described. The experiments were performed in microfluidic devices made by soft lithography in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). To gain insight into the fluid dynamics in the microfluidic devices, 2D and 3D simulations based on the finite element method (FEM) were performed. This allowed for optimization of the microchannel geometry, and thus precise control over the formation process and properties of the polymersomes, which were extensively characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and cryo transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Two distinct approaches to control the vesicular self-assembly of copolymer molecules into polymersomes were studied: the undirected self-assembly using hydrodynamic flow focusing (HFF) and the directed self-assembly using copolymer-stabilized water/organic solvent/water (W/O/W) double emulsion templates. In the former case, the formation of polymersomes occurred at the interface of a flow-focused, copolymer-loaded solvent stream and a selective solvent in a simple microchannel cross junction. Investigations revealed that the polymersome size is in proportion with the flow rate ratio of polymer solution and the selective solvent; a nucleation and growth model explaining the observed relation between flow conditions and polymersome size was proposed. In the latter case, the formation of polymersomes was directed by W/O/W double emulsions during evaporation of the organic solvent in which the copolymer was dissolved. The formation of vesicles from diblock copolymers in microfluidic devices not only enables continuous fabrication of polymersomes with controlled size and narrow polydispersity (PDI), but also offers the ability to tune the polymersome size over severa…
abstract: The fabrication of diblock copolymer vesicles, so-called polymersomes, from poly(2-vinylpyridine)-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (P2VP-b-PEG) and poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(lactid acid) (PEG-b-PLA) by means of microfluidics is described. The experiments were performed in microfluidic devices made by soft lithography in poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS). To gain insight into the fluid dynamics in the microfluidic devices, 2D and 3D simulations based on the finite element method (FEM) were performed. This allowed for optimization of the microchannel geometry, and thus precise control over the formation process and properties of the polymersomes, which were extensively characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and cryo transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Two distinct approaches to control the vesicular self-assembly of copolymer molecules into polymersomes were studied: the undirected self-assembly using hydrodynamic flow focusing (HFF) and the directed self-assembly using copolymer-stabilized water/organic solvent/water (W/O/W) double emulsion templates. In the former case, the formation of polymersomes occurred at the interface of a flow-focused, copolymer-loaded solvent stream and a selective solvent in a simple microchannel cross junction. Investigations revealed that the polymersome size is in proportion with the flow rate ratio of polymer solution and the selective solvent; a nucleation and growth model explaining the observed relation between flow conditions and polymersome size was proposed. In the latter case, the formation of polymersomes was directed by W/O/W double emulsions during evaporation of the organic solvent in which the copolymer was dissolved. The formation of vesicles from diblock copolymers in microfluidic devices not only enables continuous fabrication of polymersomes with controlled size and narrow polydispersity (PDI), but also offers the ability to tune the polymersome size over severa…
author: Thiele, Julian
date published: 2011-11-16
date modified: 2026-07-27T18:49:09Z
provider: Universität Bayreuth
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Universität Bayreuth