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Yousefian Z, Hassan Saidi M. Mass transport analysis of non-Newtonian fluids under combined electroosmotically and pressure driven flow in rectangular microreactors. Colloids Surf A Physicochem Eng Asp 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.colsurfa.2016.08.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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2
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Preparation and statistical optimization of Losartan Potassium loaded nanoparticles using Box Behnken factorial design: Microreactor precipitation. Chem Eng Res Des 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2015.07.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
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Novel Electrokinetic Microfluidic Detector for Evaluating Effectiveness of Microalgae Disinfection in Ship Ballast Water. Int J Mol Sci 2015; 16:25560-75. [PMID: 26516836 PMCID: PMC4632816 DOI: 10.3390/ijms161025560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2015] [Revised: 08/13/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Ship ballast water treatment methods face many technical challenges. The effectiveness of every treatment method usually is evaluated by using large scale equipment and a large volume of samples, which involves time-consuming, laborious, and complex operations. This paper reports the development of a novel, simple and fast platform of methodology in evaluating the efficiency and the best parameters for ballast water treatment systems, particularly in chemical disinfection. In this study, a microfluidic chip with six sample wells and a waste well was designed, where sample transportation was controlled by electrokinetic flow. The performance of this microfluidic platform was evaluated by detecting the disinfection of Dunaliella salina (D. salina) algae in ballast water treated by sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) solution. Light-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (LICF) intensity was used to determine the viability of microalgae cells in the system, which can be operated automatically with the dimension of the detector as small as 50 mm × 24 mm × 5 mm. The 40 µL volume of sample solution was used for each treatment condition test and the validity of detection can be accomplished within about five min. The results show that the viability of microalgae cells under different treatment conditions can be determined accurately and further optimal treatment conditions including concentrations of NaClO and treatment time can also be obtained. These results can provide accurate evaluation and optimal parameters for ballast water treatment methods.
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Li S, Cao W, Hui YS, Wen W. Simple and reusable picoinjector for liquid delivery via nanofluidics approach. NANOSCALE RESEARCH LETTERS 2014; 9:147. [PMID: 24666418 PMCID: PMC3987644 DOI: 10.1186/1556-276x-9-147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2014] [Accepted: 03/14/2014] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED Precise control of sample volume is one of the most important functions in lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems, especially for chemical and biological reactions. The common approach used for liquid delivery involves the employment of capillaries and microstructures for generating a droplet which has a volume in the nanoliter or picoliter range. Here, we report a novel approach for constructing a picoinjector which is based on well-controlled electroosmotic (EO) flow to electrokinetically drive sample solutions. This picoinjector comprises an array of interconnected nanochannels for liquid delivery. Such technique for liquid delivery has the advantages of well-controlled sample volume and reusable nanofluidic chip, and it was reported for the first time. In the study of the pumping process for this picoinjector, the EO flow rate was determined by the intensity of the fluorescent probe. The influence of ion concentration in electrolyte solutions over the EO flow rate was also investigated and discussed. The application of this EO-driven picoinjector for chemical reactions was demonstrated by the reaction between Fluo-4 and calcium chloride with the reaction cycle controlled by the applied square waves of different duty cycles. The precision of our device can reach down to picoliter per second, which is much smaller than that of most existing technologies. This new approach, thus, opens further possibilities of adopting nanofluidics for well-controlled chemical reactions with particular applications in nanoparticle synthesis, bimolecular synthesis, drug delivery, and diagnostic testing. PACS 85.85.+ j; 87.15.hj; 82.39.Wj.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunbo Li
- Department of Physics and Joint KAUST-HKUST Micro/Nano-Fluidics Laboratory, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Wenbin Cao
- Nano Science and Technology Program and Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Yu Sanna Hui
- Nano Science and Technology Program and Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
| | - Weijia Wen
- Department of Physics and Joint KAUST-HKUST Micro/Nano-Fluidics Laboratory, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
- Nano Science and Technology Program and Department of Physics, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong
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Capretto L, Carugo D, Mazzitelli S, Nastruzzi C, Zhang X. Microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip preparation routes for organic nanoparticles and vesicular systems for nanomedicine applications. Adv Drug Deliv Rev 2013; 65:1496-532. [PMID: 23933616 DOI: 10.1016/j.addr.2013.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2013] [Revised: 07/10/2013] [Accepted: 08/01/2013] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, advancements in the fields of microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip technologies have provided unique opportunities for the implementation of nanomaterial production processes owing to the miniaturisation of the fluidic environment. It has been demonstrated that microfluidic reactors offer a range of advantages compared to conventional batch reactors, including improved controllability and uniformity of nanomaterial characteristics. In addition, the fast mixing achieved within microchannels, and the predictability of the laminar flow conditions, can be leveraged to investigate the nanomaterial formation dynamics. In this article recent developments in the field of microfluidic production of nanomaterials for drug delivery applications are reviewed. The features that make microfluidic reactors a suitable technological platform are discussed in terms of controllability of nanomaterials production. An overview of the various strategies developed for the production of organic nanoparticles and colloidal assemblies is presented, focusing on those nanomaterials that could have an impact on nanomedicine field such as drug nanoparticles, polymeric micelles, liposomes, polymersomes, polyplexes and hybrid nanoparticles. The effect of microfluidic environment on nanomaterials formation dynamics, as well as the use of microdevices as tools for nanomaterial investigation is also discussed.
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Capretto L, Cheng W, Carugo D, Katsamenis OL, Hill M, Zhang X. Mechanism of co-nanoprecipitation of organic actives and block copolymers in a microfluidic environment. NANOTECHNOLOGY 2012; 23:375602. [PMID: 22922560 DOI: 10.1088/0957-4484/23/37/375602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
Microreactors have been shown to be a powerful tool for the production of nanoparticles (NPs); however, there is still a lack of understanding of the role that the microfluidic environment plays in directing the nanoprecipitation process. Here we investigate the mechanism of nanoprecipitation of block copolymer stabilized organic NPs using a microfluidic-based reactor in combination with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of the microfluidic implementation. The latter also accounts for the complex interplay between molecular and hydrodynamic phenomena during the nanoprecipitation process, in order to understand the hydrodynamics and its influence on the NP formation process. It is demonstrated that the competitive reactions result in the formation of two types of NPs, i.e., either with or without loading organic actives. The obtained results are interpreted by taking into consideration a new parameter representing the mismatching between the aggregations of the polymers and actives, which plays a decisive role in determining the size and polydispersity of the prepared hybrid NPs. These results expand the current understanding of the co-nanoprecipitation mechanism of active and block copolymer stabilizer, and on the role exerted by the microfluidic environment, giving information that could be translated to the emerging fields of microfluidic formation of NPs and nanomedicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Capretto
- Faculty of Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
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Werts MHV, Raimbault V, Texier-Picard R, Poizat R, Français O, Griscom L, Navarro JRG. Quantitative full-colour transmitted light microscopy and dyes for concentration mapping and measurement of diffusion coefficients in microfluidic architectures. LAB ON A CHIP 2012; 12:808-20. [PMID: 22228225 DOI: 10.1039/c2lc20889j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
A simple and versatile methodology has been developed for the simultaneous measurement of multiple concentration profiles of colourants in transparent microfluidic systems, using a conventional transmitted light microscope, a digital colour (RGB) camera and numerical image processing combined with multicomponent analysis. Rigorous application of the Beer-Lambert law would require monochromatic probe conditions, but in spite of the broad spectral bandwidths of the three colour channels of the camera, a linear relation between the measured optical density and dye concentration is established under certain conditions. An optimised collection of dye solutions for the quantitative optical microscopic characterisation of microfluidic devices is proposed. Using the methodology for optical concentration measurement we then implement and validate a simplified and robust method for the microfluidic measurement of diffusion coefficients using an H-filter architecture. It consists of measuring the ratio of the concentrations of the two output channels of the H-filter. It enables facile determination of the diffusion coefficient, even for non-fluorescent molecules and nanoparticles, and is compatible with non-optical detection of the analyte.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martinus H V Werts
- Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan-Bretagne, UEB, Campus de Ker Lann, Bruz, France.
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Capretto L, Carugo D, Cheng W, Hill M, Zhang X. Continuous-flow production of polymeric micelles in microreactors: experimental and computational analysis. J Colloid Interface Sci 2011; 357:243-51. [PMID: 21353232 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2011.01.085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2010] [Revised: 01/22/2011] [Accepted: 01/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
We report the development of a microfluidic-based process for the production of polymeric micelles (PMs) in continuous-flow microreactors where Pluronic® tri-block copolymer is used as model polymeric biomaterial relating to drug delivery applications. A flow focusing configuration is used enabling a controllable, and fast mixing process to assist the formation of polymeric micelles through nanoprecipitation which is triggered by a solvent exchange process when organic solutions of the polymer mixed with a non-solvent. We experientially investigate the effect of polymer concentration, flow rate ratio and microreactor dimension on the PMs size characteristics. The mixing process within the microfluidic reactors is further analyzed by computational modeling in order to understand the hydrodynamic process and its implication for the polymeric micelles formation process. The results obtained show that besides the effect of the flow rate ratio, the chemical environment in which the aggregation takes place plays an important role in determining the dimensional characteristics of the produced polymeric micelles. It is demonstrated that microfluidic reactors provide a useful platform for the continuous-flow production of polymeric micelles with improved controllability, reproducibility, and homogeneity of the size characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorenzo Capretto
- Bioengineering Group, School of Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
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Zhang X, Coupland P, Fletcher PD, Haswell SJ. Monitoring of liquid flow through microtubes using a micropressure sensor. Chem Eng Res Des 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cherd.2008.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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10
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Cannizzo C, Amigoni‐Gerbier S, Frigoli M, Larpent C. A versatile preparation of azobenzene‐dye functionalized colored polymer nanoparticles by surface modification. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2008. [DOI: 10.1002/pola.22679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline Cannizzo
- Institut Lavoisier UMR‐CNRS 8180, Université de Versailles‐Saint‐Quentin‐en‐Yvelines, 45 Avenue des Etats‐Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex, France
| | - Sonia Amigoni‐Gerbier
- Institut Lavoisier UMR‐CNRS 8180, Université de Versailles‐Saint‐Quentin‐en‐Yvelines, 45 Avenue des Etats‐Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex, France
| | - Michel Frigoli
- Institut Lavoisier UMR‐CNRS 8180, Université de Versailles‐Saint‐Quentin‐en‐Yvelines, 45 Avenue des Etats‐Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex, France
| | - Chantal Larpent
- Institut Lavoisier UMR‐CNRS 8180, Université de Versailles‐Saint‐Quentin‐en‐Yvelines, 45 Avenue des Etats‐Unis, 78035 Versailles Cedex, France
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Abstract
By reducing the operational dimensions of a conventional macrofluidic-based system down to the micron scale, one can not only reduce the sample volume, but also access a range of unique characteristics, which are not achievable in conventional macro-scale systems. This chapter will discuss the unique properties of miniaturised systems based on micro-fluidic and Lab-on-a-Chip technology and consider how these may influence the overall performance associated with chemical and biological processing. Some consideration will also be given to the selection of materials and/or surface modifications that will be proactive in exploiting the high surface area and thermal and mass transfer properties, to enhance process performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- X Zhang
- Department of Chemistry, The University of Hull, HU6 7RX Hull, UK
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Watts P, Haswell SJ. The Application of Microreactors for Small Scale Organic Synthesis. Chem Eng Technol 2005. [DOI: 10.1002/ceat.200407124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Abstract
This tutorial review describes how micro reactors are being applied to synthetic chemistry covering a wide range of applications, from the preparation of nanograms of material for drug discovery and screening to the multi-tonne production of fine chemicals. This article explores how miniaturisation may revolutionise chemical synthesis and demonstrates that products are generated in higher yield and purity compared to the equivalent bulk reactions, in much shorter periods of time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Watts
- Department of Chemistry, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull, UKHU6 7RX.
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Macinnes J, Du X, Allen R. Dynamics of Electroosmotic Switching of Reacting Microfluidic Flows. Chem Eng Res Des 2003. [DOI: 10.1205/026387603322302959] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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