One-step two-dimensional microfluidics-based synthesis of three-dimensional particles.

Synthesis of three-dimensional anisotropic microparticles using a simple one-step microfluidic-based method is described. The method exploits the nonuniformity of the polymerizing UV light, UV absorption by opaque nanoparticles in the precursor solution, and discontinuous photomask patterns to make magnetic and non-magnetic microparticles in a twodimensional microchannel. Numerical simulations of monomer conversion in the microfluidic channel are performed to predict the manufactured particle shape.