Hollow nanoparticles (HNPs) have recently attracted an extensive attention due to a potential to be applied to the fields of nanoreactor, drug encapsulation and delivery. Differently from the conventional methods that require the multiple and complicated process of HNPs synthesis, this paper suggests a single step flow-induced microfluidic synthesis of HNPs by employing self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene glycol) (PS-<i>b-</i>PEG) in interface of a laminated flow formed in a double-focused microchannel. The formation process of the HNPs in laminar flow interface of the double-focused microchannel was illustrated in Figure 1. The polymer stream, pure solvent stream, and water stream were introduced into the inlet 1, 2 and 3, respectively. When the water meets with the polymer in the second focusing channel, the nucleation and dispersion processes occurred. Due to the transverse diffusion of the polymer stream and the water stream through the laminated flow interface, the self-assembly of PS-<i>b</i>-PEG occurred to form the HNPs. The polymerized HNPs moved to the outlet and were collected in a vial. Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) determine the hollow structure of the HNPs and their size. A narrow size distribution of the synthesized HNPs was obtained compared with other microfluidic synthesis methods. The uniform size HNPs can be applied to drug encapsulation for pharmaceuticals and biomedical researches.

Microfluidic synthesis of hollow nanoparticles by using flow-induced interfacial self-assembly of polystyrene-block-poly(ethylene glycol)

2019 Spring National Meeting

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