2004 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
A Study on the preparation of polymeric microspheres using microfluidic devices
| Project/Area Number |
15310100
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Microdevices/Nanodevices
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
TORII Toru The University of Tokyo, School of Engineering, Associate Professor, 大学院・工学系研究科, 助教授 (60172227)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
HIGUCHI Toshiro The University of Tokyo, School of Engineering, Professor, 大学院・工学系研究科, 教授 (10111569)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2003 – 2004
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| Keywords | Microchannel / Microreactor / Polymeric microspheres / Emulsion / Microfluidics |
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| Research Abstract |
Monodisperese polymeric microspheres having 10-100 μm diameter can be prepared using microfluidic devices. Main parts of our research include the followings : (a) fabrication of microfluidic channels for the droplet formation ; (b) preparation of droplets and polymeric particles.
Microchannels with cross-sectional dimensions of 10-100 μm were fabricated on polymer or glass substrate by mechanical machining (endmill, ultra-precision cutting using diamond tools, mounted wheels, etc.), laser machining (excimer laser) or lithographical techniques (isotropic wet etching, anisotropic dry etching). Glass channels fabricated by dry etching could have accurate dimensions and higher aspect ratio.
Microfluidic channels having various geometries (T-junction, cross-junction, flow-focusing junction) were used for droplet formation experiments. The wetting issue of the channel surface was found to be very important for the condition of droplet breakup, and hydrophilic glass microchannels were found to be suitable for the preparation of O/W emulsions, which is necessary for the production of polymeric microspheres. Droplet size could be varied widely by changing flow conditions of to-be-dispersed phase and continuous phase. The minimum diameter of monomer droplets we achieved was about 15 μm and the polydispersity was under 5%. Further, the production efficiency could be mulitplied by integrating multiple channels on a chip. 15-100 μm polymeric particles with CV less than 5% could be obtained by subsequent photo-induced or heat-induced polymerization.
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