Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, 14 Engineering Drive, Hanover, New Hampshire, 03755, United States.
Sci Rep. 2017 Oct 3;7(1):12616. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-12856-9.
We demonstrate a facile and ultrafast approach for the synthesis of multifunctional submicrometer hollow silica spheres (smHSSs) using microfluidic spiral channels with enhanced mixing performance, introduced by the transverse Dean flows cross the channel as a result of centrifugal effects. Formation of smHSSs is initiated by the hydrolysis of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) at the interface of two laminar reactant flows. Complete mixing of the flows further facilitates the subsequent condensation of hydrolyzed TEOS, which builds up the shell layer of smHSSs. The average size of the as-synthesized smHSSs is 804.7 nm, and the thickness of the shell layer is ~20 nm. Multifunctional smHSSs integrated with proteins, fluorescent dyes, quantum dots, and magnetic nanoparticles can be further produced via this general platform. Their applications in cell imaging, organic dye adsorption, and drug delivery are examined.
我们展示了一种使用微流控螺旋通道的简便、超快的方法来合成多功能亚微米级空心二氧化硅球（smHSSs），这种微流控螺旋通道具有增强的混合性能，是由于离心效应导致横向 Dean 流穿过通道。smHSSs 的形成是由正硅酸乙酯（TEOS）在两个层流反应物流的界面处水解引发的。流的完全混合进一步促进了水解 TEOS 的后续缩合，从而构建了 smHSSs 的壳层。所合成的 smHSSs 的平均尺寸为 804.7nm，壳层厚度约为 20nm。通过这个通用平台可以进一步制备集成有蛋白质、荧光染料、量子点和磁性纳米粒子的多功能 smHSSs。研究了它们在细胞成像、有机染料吸附和药物输送方面的应用。
