以单分散P(DC-TMPTA)聚合物微球为Pickering乳液稳定剂制备石蜡乳液和石蜡微球

以三羟甲基丙烷三丙烯酸酯(TMPTA)和1-十二烯(DC)为单体,不使用任何乳化剂或分散稳定剂,通过沉淀聚合制备了高度单分散P(DC-TMPTA)的聚合物微球颗粒.以此聚合物微粒为Pickering稳定剂,不添加任何化学助剂,以乙醇-水混合介质在70℃下通过恒速振荡制得了单分散石蜡Pickering乳液.将该体系迅速降温至石蜡熔点之下,制得了窄分布的固体石蜡微球.研究了连续相水含量、振荡频率及稳定粒子尺寸对Pickering乳液及石蜡微球的影响,优化了石蜡乳液和微球的制备条件.利用扫描电子显微镜对石蜡微球的表面和内部形貌进行了表征,结果表明P(DC-TMPTA)微球全部聚集在石蜡液滴和固化后的石蜡微球表面.基于石蜡微球和聚合物稳定粒子的尺寸,计算了不同条件下石蜡微球表面聚合物粒子的数量.通过聚合物粒子在石蜡-乙醇和水混合溶液界面的三相接触角以及石蜡-乙醇和水混合溶液界面张力的测定,计算了聚合物粒子在石蜡-乙醇和水混合溶液界面吸附能,为解释该体系Pickering乳液的稳定性提供了理论支持.     

微乳液法制备固体催化剂在多相催化领域中的应用

采用微乳液法制备纳米粒子具有粒径可控、粒度分布均匀、粒子不易团聚等优点,在一些反应中表现出优良的催化性能.本文介绍了微乳液的概念,阐述了反相微乳体系(W/O)作为纳米反应器的原理以及用于制备固体催化剂的方法.综述了反相微乳液法制备固体催化剂在多相催化领域中的应用,并指出该技术存在的问题和发展趋势.     

微流控法制备的多孔微球对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能

利用玻璃毛细管搭建单级微流控装置制备单分散水包油(O/W)乳液,以乳液为模板,紫外光照射乳液引发自由基聚合,成功制备了单分散聚(甲基丙烯酸甲酯/甲基丙烯酸二甲氨基乙酯)[P (MMA/DMAEMA)]多孔微球。微球粒径偏差系数(CV)值小于5%,单分散性良好。研究P (MMA/DMAEMA)多孔微球对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能、再生吸附性能、吸附机理。结果表明,p H对微球吸附Cr(Ⅵ)有较大影响,当pH=3时,微球对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附率达到52. 9%,循环4次后其吸附性能基本不变;微球的吸附符合准二级动力学模型,属于化学吸附;微球等温吸附符合Langmuir模型,属于单分子层吸附。     

微流控法制备的多孔微球对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能

利用玻璃毛细管搭建单级微流控装置制备单分散水包油（O/W）乳液,以乳液为模板,紫外光照射乳液引发自由基聚合,成功制备了单分散甲基丙烯酸甲酯/甲基丙烯酸二甲基氨基乙酯（MMA/DMAEMA）多孔微球。微球粒径偏差系数（CV）值小于5%,单分散性良好。研究了MMA/DMAEMA多孔微球对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能、再生吸附性能、吸附机理。结果表明：pH对微球吸附Cr(Ⅵ)的量有较大影响,当pH=3时,微球对Cr(Ⅵ)吸附率达到52.9%;循环4次后微球吸附率基本不降低,循环性能好;微球吸附符合准二级动力学模型,属于化学吸附;微球等温吸附符合Langmuir模型,属于单分子层吸附。     

聚苯乙烯单分散微球粒径可控性探讨

在系统研究分散聚合反应中的原料组成(分散稳定剂、单体、引发剂)和反应条件(反应介质极性、反应体系温度、搅拌速度)对所制备的聚合物微球的粒径大小及粒径分布和聚合反应速率影响的基础上,根据各因素的影响效应,优化设计分散聚合的反应条件,成功地制备出1μm~10μm粒径范围内不同粒径级别的微米级单分散聚合物微球,实现了不同粒径大小及粒径分布的微米级单分散聚合物微球制备的控制设计。     

微孔分散法制备单分散微胶囊研究进展

小粒径单分散多孔微胶囊的制备具有重要学术意义和实际应用价值。本文在介绍传统的微胶囊合成方法和特性表征的基础上,重点阐述利用孔径均一的SPG膜分散乳化法,以及微通道法制备粒径单分散微乳液和微胶囊的工艺过程、技术原理及该技术的开发应用现状。     

微波辅助4-十二烷氧基苄胺保护的憎水性纳米金原位还原合成

利用新型表面活性剂4-十二烷氧基苄胺(C₁₂OBA)构成的C₁₂OBA/正庚烷/正丁醇/HAuCl₄/NaOH(aq.) W/O型微乳液作为微反应器, 通过微波辐射加热的正丁醇原位还原法制备了C₁₂OBA包裹的憎水性金纳米粒子, 并通过紫外可见光谱(UV-vis)、透射电镜(TEM)、X射线衍射(XRD)、红外光谱(FT-IR)和接触角(CA)等分别进行了表征和分析. 结果显示, C₁₂OBA既可参与形成稳定的W/O型微乳液, 又可作为金粒子的良好保护剂. 微乳液内核中碱度的增加能增强位于膜相的正丁醇分子的还原能力. 在固定氯金酸用量时, C₁₂OBA/金的物质的量比增加有利于获得小尺寸、高单分散性的憎水性纳米金颗粒, 而体系的极性增加则导致金粒子的尺寸增大、单分散性下降. 通过本实验方法可方便快速地合成尺寸约为5 nm的具有高度单分散的憎水性金纳米粒子.     

交联聚苯乙烯单分散微球的制备

微米级粒度均匀的聚合物微球作为功能高分子材料在分析化学、生物化学、标准计量以及某些高新技术领域中应用广泛。制备聚合物微球的传统方法有乳液和悬浮聚合法。乳液聚合只能制备粒径为0．1-0．7μm的颗粒，采用无皂或低皂乳液聚合法制成的单分散聚合物微球粒径接近1μm，但难于达到1μm以上，且后处理比较麻烦；悬浮聚合制备的聚合物微球粒径则一般在100-1000μm之间，且是多分散性的。而分散聚合获得的微球呈单分散性，是制备粒径为1-10μm的单分散聚合物微球的有效方法。     

反相微乳液中憎水性纳米金的原位还原法合成

利用十八胺(C18NH2)/正丁醇/正庚烷/HAuCl4(aq)W/O型微乳液体系,在常温的碱促进条件下由正丁醇原位还原氯金酸合成了具有高度单分散的憎水性金纳米粒子。由C18NH2稳定的金纳米颗粒运用紫外可见光谱(UV-vis)、透射电镜(TEM)和X射线衍射(XRD)等分别进行了表征和分析,并探讨了微乳液体系各组分对形成金纳米粒子形貌、尺寸和单分散性的影响。结果显示,随十八胺/氯金酸摩尔比的增加,金粒子的尺寸逐渐减小而单分散性逐渐提高。在正丁醇原位慢还原氯金酸的过程中,实验所选W/O型微乳液模板和表面活性剂十八胺分子对憎水性金纳米粒子的形貌和尺寸仍具有良好的控制作用。     

反相微乳液法制备纳米SiO2的研究

在壬基酚聚氧乙烯5醚(NP-5)/环己烷/氨水的反相微乳液体系中，进行正硅酸乙酯(TEOS)的水解、缩合反应，得到粒径在30～50 nm的单分散纳米SiO₂胶体。红外光谱法(FTIR)及透射电子显微镜(TEM)观察证明了纳米SiO₂粒子的生成。反相微乳液体系相图的研究表明，水相为氨水比纯水有较窄的W/O型微乳区。氨水微乳液是碱催化TEOS水解、缩合制备纳米SiO₂粒子的适宜体系。当体系中TEOS的浓度增大时，粒子的粒径随之增大。降低NP-5     

Fabrication of quantum dots-encoded microbeads with a simple capillary fluidic device and their application for biomolecule detection

Monodispersed quantum dots (QDs)-encoded polymer microbeads were generated using a simple capillary fluidic device (CFD). The polymer and QDs solution was emulsified into monodispersed microdroplets by the CFD and obtained droplets were solidified via solvent evaporation. Polymer microbeads can be fabricated in a range of different sizes through changing the flow rates of the two immiscible phases, and have a highly narrow size distribution and uniform shape. QDs-encoding capacity of the microbeads was investigated through adjusting the concentrations and ratios of QDs in the polymer solution. Mono-color encoded microbeads with five intensities and a dual-color QDs-encoded 5×5 microbeads array were obtained, and the spectral profiles of the microbeads were examined by a fluorescent microscope coupled with a spectral imaging system. QDs-tagged microbeads prepared with this method were more stable than the porous beads swollen with QDs in the buffer with various pH and crosslinking chemicals. Finally, the application of such microbeads for biomolecule detection was demonstrated by conjugation of rabbit IgG molecules on the surface of the microbeads via carboxyl groups, which were then detected by fluorophores-labeled goat-anti-rabbit IgG antibodies.     

Highly productive droplet formation by anisotropic elongation of a thread flow in a microchannel

We developed a microfluidic device to form monodisperse droplets with high productivity by anisotropic elongation of a thread flow, defined as a threadlike flow of a dispersed liquid phase in a flow of an immiscible, continuous liquid phase. The thread flow was anisotropically elongated in the depth direction in a straight microchannel with a step, where the microchannel depth changed. Consequently, the elongated thread flow was given capillary instability (Rayleigh-Plateau instability) and was continuously transformed into monodisperse droplets at the downstream area of the step in the microchannel. We examined the effects of the flow rates of the dispersed phase and the continuous phase on the droplet formation behavior, including the droplet diameter and droplet formation frequency. The droplet diameter increased as the fraction of the dispersed-phase flow rate relative to the total flow rate increased and was independent of the total flow rate. The droplet formation frequency proportionally increased with the total flow rate at a constant dispersed-phase flow rate fraction. These results are explained in terms of a mechanism similar to that of droplet formation from a cylindrical liquid thread flow by Rayleigh-Plateau instability. The microfluidic device described was capable of forming monodisperse droplets with a 160-microm average diameter and 3-microm standard deviation at a droplet formation frequency of 350 droplets per second from a single thread flow. The highest total flow rate achieved was 6 mL/h using the present device composed of a straight microchannel with a step. We also demonstrated parallel droplet formation by anisotropic elongation of multiple thread flows; the process was applied to form W/O and O/W droplets. The highly productive droplet formation process presented in this study is expected to be useful for future industrial applications.     

Continuous and size-dependent sorting of emulsion droplets using hydrodynamics in pinched microchannels

In this report, a microfluidic system is presented for continuous and size-dependent separation of droplets utilizing microscale hydrodynamics. The separation scheme is based on laminar-flow focusing and spreading in a pinched microchannel, referred to as "pinched flow fractionation (PFF)", which was previously developed for the size-dependent separation of solid particles, such as polymer microparticles or cells. By simply introducing emulsion and the continuous phase into a microchannel, continuous separation could be achieved without using complicated operations or devices. We first examined whether this scheme could be applied for droplets, by using a pinched microchannel with one outlet, and observed the behaviors of monodisperse droplets generated at the upstream T-junction. Analysis via high-speed imaging revealed that the length of the pinched segment is critical for precise separation of droplets. Then, separation of a polydisperse oil-in-water emulsion that was prepared previously was demonstrated using a microfluidic device equipped with multiple outlets. These results showed the ability of the presented system to sort or select specific-sized droplets easily and accurately, which would be difficult to achieve using normal-scale schemes, such as centrifugation or filtration.     

Microchip-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (microELISA) system with thermal lens detection

A microchip-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (microELISA) system was developed and interferon-gamma was successfully determined. The system was composed of a microchip with a Y-shaped microchannel and a dam structure, polystyrene microbeads, and a thermal lens microscope (TLM). All reactions required for the immunoassay were done in the microchannel by successive introduction of a sample and regents. The enzyme reaction product, in a liquid phase, was detected downstream in the channel using the TLM as substrate solution was injected. The antigen-antibody reaction time was shortened by the microchip integration. The limit of the determination was improved by adopting the enzyme label. Moreover, detection procedures were greatly simplified and required time for the detection was significantly cut. The system has good potential to be developed as a small and automated high throughput analyzer.     

Controlled synthesis of nonspherical microparticles using microfluidics

The controlled synthesis of nonspherical microparticles using microfluidics processing is described. Polymer droplets, formed by shearing a photopolymer using a continuous water phase at a T-junction, were constrained to adopt nonspherical shapes by confining them using appropriate microchannel geometries. Plugs were obtained by shearing the polymer phase at low shear rates, while disks were obtained by flattening droplets using a channel of low height. The nonspherical shapes formed were permanently preserved by photopolymerizing the constrained droplets in situ using ultraviolet light. Monodisperse plugs and disks of different lengths and diameters were obtained by varying the flow rates of the two phases.     

Versatile immunoassays based on isomagnetophoresis

We report an isomagnetophoretic immunoassay capable of detecting an attomolar level of proteins and adjusting the dynamic range of target analytes. Here, the magnetic nanoparticles are used as labels on microbeads in sandwich-type immunoassay, detecting the amount of bound analytes by isomagnetophoretic focusing the solid-support microbeads under the magnetic susceptibility gradient and magnetic field in a microchannel. For the practical purpose, this platform was applied to detect three types of breast cancer biomarkers.     

Droplet formation in a microchannel network

A method is given for generating droplets in a microchannel network. With oil as the continuous phase and water as the dispersed phase, pico/nanoliter-sized water droplets can be generated in a continuous phase flow at a -junction. The channel for the dispersed phase is 100 microm wide and 100 microm deep, whereas the channel for the continuous phase is 500 microm wide and 100 microm deep. For given experimental parameters, regular-sized droplets are reproducibly formed at a uniform speed. The diameter of these droplets is controllable in the range from 100-380 microm as the flow velocity of the continuous phase is varied from 0.01 m s(-1) to 0.15 m s(-1).     

Controlled generation of monodisperse discoid droplets using microchannel arrays

We report a novel technique for generating geometrically confined droplets using a unique microstructure composed of a microchannel (MC) array and a shallow well. Silicon MC array devices were successfully used to generate monodisperse discoid droplets of oil-in-water (O/W) and W/O types by forcing a to-be-dispersed phase through channels into a well filled with a continuous phase. Monodisperse discoid droplets with sizes down to several micrometers were obtained by controlling the channel and well dimensions. The resultant discoid droplets formed a mostly close-packed array in the well. Monodisperse discoid droplets consisting of a silicone oil/water/sodium dodecyl sulfate system did not coalesce during the storage time of seven days. Additionally, MC array plates with many channels can be useful for increasing the droplet productivity of a single microfluidic device.     

Microfluidics assisted synthesis of well-defined spherical polymeric microcapsules and their utilization as potential encapsulants

In this article, the development of a novel technique to fabricate spherical polymeric microcapsules by utilizing microfluidic technology is presented. Atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was employed to synthesize well-defined amphiphilic block copolymers. An organic polymer solution was constrained to adopt the spherical droplets in a continuous water phase at a T-junction microchannel, and the generation of the droplets was studied quantitatively. The flow conditions of two immiscible solutions were adjusted for the successful generation of the polymer droplets. The morphology of the microcapsules was examined. The efficiency of these polymer microcapsules as containers for the storage and controlled release of loaded molecules was evaluated by encapsulating the microcapsules with Congo-red dye and investigating the release performance using temperature controlled UV-VIS spectroscopy.     

Simultaneous measurements of the flow velocities in a microchannel by wide/evanescent field illuminations with particle/single molecules

A laser-induced fluorescence imaging method was developed to simultaneously measure flow velocities in the middle and near wall of a channel with particles or single molecules, by selectively switching from the wide field excitation mode to the evanescent wave excitation mode. Fluorescent microbeads with a diameter of 175 nm were used to calibrate the system, and the collisions of microbeads with channel walls were directly observed. The 175 nm microbeads velocities in the main flow and at 275 nm from the bottom of the channel were measured. The measured velocities of particles or single molecules in two positions in a microchannel were consistent with the calculated value based on Poiseuille flow theory when the diameter of a microbead was considered. The errors caused by Brownian diffusion in our measurement were negligible compared to the flow velocity. Single lambda DNA molecules were then used as a flowing tracer to measure the velocities. The velocity can be obtained at a distance of 309.0 +/- 82.6 nm away from bottom surface of the channel. The technique may be potentially useful for studying molecular transportation both in the center and at the bottom of the channel, and interactions between molecules and microchannel surfaces. It is especially important that the technique can be permitted to measure both velocities in the same experiment to eliminate possible experimental inconsistencies.