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Method Article
We present a protocol to synthesize Janus microhydrogels composed entirely of the same base material, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), with a clearly compartmentalized structure base on the phase separation of a supersaturated NIPAAm monomer solution. The synthesized Janus microhydrogels show unique properties such as anisotropic thermo-responsiveness and organophilic/hydrophilic loading capability.
Janus microparticles are compartmentalized particles with differing molecular structures and/or functionality on each of their two sides. Because of this unique property, Janus microparticles have been recognized as a new class of materials, thereby attracting a great deal of attention from various research fields. The versatility of these microparticles has been exemplified through their uses as building blocks for self-assembly, electrically responsive actuators, emulsifiers for painting and cosmetics, and carriers for drug delivery. This study introduces a detailed protocol that explicitly describes a synthetic method for designing novel Janus microhydrogels composed of a single base material, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm). Janus microdroplets are firstly generated via a hydrodynamic focusing microfluidic device (HFMD) based on the separation of a supersaturated aqueous NIPAAm monomer solution and subsequently polymerized through exposure to UV irradiation. The resulting Janus microhydrogels were found to be entirely composed of the same base material, featured an easily identifiable compartmentalized morphology, and exhibited anisotropic thermo-responsiveness and organophilic/hydrophilic loading capability. We believe that the proposed method introduces a novel hydrogel platform with the potential for advanced synthesis of multi-functional Janus microhydrogels.
Hydrogels are a network of hydrophilic polymer chains.1 An increasing amount of research in the field of hydrogels has promoted significant advances and revealed their similarity to biological tissues; the properties of hydrogels allow the uptake of large amounts of water while maintaining their structure. Environmentally responsive hydrogels have also been studied extensively because of their ability to swell or shrink reversibly in response to external stimuli.2 Several triggers, including temperature,3-5 pH,6,7 light,8,9 electric fields,10,11 and specific molecules, such as glucose,12,13 have been suggested to control the geometric shape of hydrogels. Among the many environmentally responsive hydrogels currently available, poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm), a well-known thermo-responsive hydrogel, exhibits volume shrinkage above a low critical solution temperature (LCST) of 32 °C.14 A recent study by Sasaki et al.15 reported the intriguing liquid-liquid phase separation of supersaturated NIPAAm, which is the monomer of PNIPAAm. According to this report, supersaturated NIPAAm was dissolved with a 10-fold molar excess of H2O, and soon after, the solution separated into two liquid phases when allows to stand at a temperature above 25 °C; by contrast, dilute NIPAAm was dissolved homogeneously under the same conditions.
Microparticles made of environmentally responsive hydrogels are fascinating candidates for application in drug delivery,16,17 catalysis,18 sensing,19,20 and photonics.21 Traditional synthetic methods including emulsion polymerization, are used to produce hydrogel microparticles with polydispersity.22,23 However, certain applications require microparticles with a narrow size distribution, for example, to stabilize the pharmacokinetics of drug delivery.24 Irregularly shaped or polydisperse embolic microparticles aggregate proximally into clusters, leading to chronic inflammatory responses in embolic particles for cancer therapeutic treatment.25,26
The microfluidic approach is at the forefront of research as a means of fabricating micro-sized particles with narrow size distributions and complex shapes.27-31 The advantages of fabricating microparticles in the microfluidic device are predicated by the small characteristic length of the microfluidic device, which results in a low Reynolds number. In contrast to traditional bulk emulsification where drops are formed in parallel, microdroplets produced in microfluidic devices are generated in series and subsequently polymerized into microparticles upon exposure to UV irradiation. The fundamental principle of droplet formation using a microfluidic device is balance between the interfacial tension and the shear force of the sheath fluid acting on the core fluid.
Despite the obvious advantages of microfluidic fabrication of droplets/particles, Janus droplets/particles consisting of the same base material are rarely reported because the internal morphology of these droplets/particles is generally disturbed by the diffusion and perturbation of the core fluids. To circumvent this intrinsic limitation, two groups recently reported the preparation of the Janus microparticles by employing heat-induced phase separation of colloidal nanoparticles and UV-directed phase separation.32,33
To this end, we report a microfluidic approach to synthesize Janus microhydrogels entirely composed of a single base material and obtain a product with clearly compartmentalized morphology. Our approach is based on the primary concept of liquid-liquid phase separation of supersaturated NIPAAm monomer. The resulting Janus microhydrogels were found to possess unique properties including anisotropic thermo-responsiveness and organophilic/hydrophilic loading capability.
フォトリソグラフィにより流体力学的フォーカシングマイクロ流体デバイス(HFMD)のためのマスターモールドの1の作製
PDMSキャスティングを通じてHFMDの2製作
図1:手足口病の製造手順の概要 HFMDのためのフォトマスクの(a)の設計パラメータ。 HFMDの製造手順の(b)のイラスト。ftp_upload / 52813 / 52813fig1large.jpg "ターゲット=" _空白 ">この図の拡大版をご覧になるにはこちらをクリックしてください。
過飽和NIPAAMの相分離により、リッチNIPAAM-(N-リッチ)とNIPAAMに乏しい(N-貧困層)相の調製
図2:ヤヌスMicrohydrogel合成のための材料の準備 (a)は、過飽和NIPAAMの相分離を介して、N-豊富で、N-乏しいモノマー溶液の調製。 (b)の材料とプロトコルで使用される実験の詳細。 この図の拡大版をご覧になるにはこちらをクリックしてください。
ヤヌスMicrohydrogelsの4合成HFMDを使用しました
ヤヌスMicrohydrogelsの異方性熱応答性の5.分析
図3aは、HFMD 経由ヤヌスmicrohydrogelsを合成するために使用される実験のセットアップの概略図を示します。 N-金持ちとN-乏しい相が正確に芯液1及び2のように手足口病に注入し、その後合併し、理由レイリーキャピラリー不安定性の鉱物油のシース流体によるオリフィスでヤヌス微小液滴に分かれていました。 図3bに示すようにその結果?...
二つの不混和性の基材は、一般に、ヤヌスmicrohydrogelsを合成するために使用されます。このプロトコルでは最近まで、同一の基材からなるヤヌスmicrohydrogelsはほとんど報告されなかったと報告されたヤヌスmicrohydrogelsが原因で構成材料の相溶性による外乱に明確な内部形態を持っていませんでした。35、36、我々は法を実証します明らかに区画構成で、完全に単一の基材のPNIPAAmからなる...
The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests.
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MSIP (Nos. 2014R1A2A1A01006527 and 2011-0030075).
Name | Company | Catalog Number | Comments |
Silicon wafer | LG Siltron | 4", Test grade | Wafer for master mold fabrication |
Acetone | Samchun Pure Chemical | A0097 | Cleaning silicon wafer |
Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) | Daejung Chemicals & Metals | 5035-4404 | Cleaning silicon wafer |
Water purification system | Merck Millipore | EMD Millipore RIOs Essential 5 | Prepering deionized water |
O2 plasma machine | Femto Science | VITA-A | Cleaning silicon wafer |
SU-8 2150 negative photoresist | MicroChem | Y111077 0500L1GL | Photoresist for master mold fabrication |
Hot plate | Misung Scientific | HP330D, HP150D | Baking SU-8 |
SU-8 developer | Microchem | Y020100 4000L1PE | Developing SU-8 |
Mask aligner system for photolithograpy | Shinu Mst Co. | CA-6M | Photolithography |
Sylgard 184 silicone elastomer kit | Dow Corning | 1064891 | PDMS casting |
Laboratory Corona Treater | Electro-technic Products Inc. | Model BD-20AC | PDMS air plasma treatment |
N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) | Sigma-Aldrich | 415324-50G | Monomer |
N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide (MBAAm) | Sigma-Aldrich | 146072-100G | Crosslinker of NIPAAm |
4-(2-hydroxyethoxy)phenyl-(2-hydroxy-2-propyl)ketone, Irgacure 2959 | BASF | 55047962 | Photoinitiator of NIPAAm |
ABIL EM 90 | Evonik Industries | 201109 | Sufactant for oil |
Vortex mixer | Scientific Industries Inc. | Vortex-Genie 2 | Mixing |
Tygon tubing | Saint-Gobain | I.D. 1/32", O.D. 3/32", Wall 1/32" | Connecting tube between syringes and HFMD |
UV light source | Hamamatsu | Spot light source LC8 | Polymerization from NIPAAm to PNIPAAm |
Syringes, NORM-JECT (3ml) | Henke-Sass Wolf GmbH | 22767 | Loading of materials |
Syringe pump | KD Scientific | KDS model 200 | Perfusion of materials |
Tegitol Type NP-10 | Sigma-Aldrich | NP10-500ML | Surfactant for water |
Oil red O | Sigma-Aldrich | O0625-25G | Dye for N-rich phase |
Oil Blue N | Sigma-Aldrich | 391557-5G | Dye for N-rich phase |
Yellow food dye | Edentown F&B | NA | Dye for N-poor phase |
Green food dye | Edentown F&B | NA | Dye for N-poor phase |
Power supply | Agilent | E3649A | Power soruce for thermoelectric moduel |
Thermoelectric module | Peltier | FALC1-12710T125 | Temparature control |
Centrifuge machine | Labogene | 1248R | Settling down microhydrogels |
24-well plate | SPL Life Sciences | 32024 | Reservoir for observation |
Optical microscope | Nikon | ECLIPSE 80i | Optical observation |
Image analysis software | IMT i-Solution Inc. | iSolutions DT | Measurement of radius |
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