Li Mengqi, Li Dongqing
Department of Marine Engineering, Dalian Maritime University, Dalian 116026, China; Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
J Colloid Interface Sci. 2021 Jan 15;582(Pt A):102-111. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2020.08.033. Epub 2020 Aug 11.
The controllable delivery of cargo is of great importance in many areas, ranging from medicine and materials science to food and cosmetic industries. To fulfil the requirements in different areas, the development of new methods for cargo delivery in a controllable manner is always essential. A novel technique of cargo delivery controlled by electric pulse was developed in this paper. In an aqueous two-phase system, the dextran-rich droplets were fabricated as droplet carriers in a continuous polyethylene glycol-rich phase. The loading and releasing of model cargos (polystyrene particles) across the surface of the droplet carriers under electric pulses were demonstrated in microfluidic chips. By controlling the amplitude of the applied electric pulses, the cargos with designed sizes were sorted and loaded into the droplet carriers; hence, the targeted delivery of cargos by size can be achieved. The exchange of cargos between droplet carriers under reversed electric pulses was also investigated, and the results indicated the flexibility of this method in cargo delivery. Moreover, possible application of this method to biological cargos was demonstrated by controlling the loading and releasing of yeast cells under electric pulses. With the advantages of easy operation and fast response, this approach provides a novel route for controllable cargo delivery with droplets.
货物的可控递送在许多领域都非常重要，从医学、材料科学到食品和化妆品行业。为了满足不同领域的需求，以可控方式开发新的货物递送方法始终至关重要。本文开发了一种由电脉冲控制的新型货物递送技术。在水两相系统中，富含葡聚糖的液滴在连续的富含聚乙二醇的相中被制备为液滴载体。在微流控芯片中展示了模型货物（聚苯乙烯颗粒）在电脉冲作用下跨液滴载体表面的装载和释放。通过控制施加电脉冲的幅度，将具有设计尺寸的货物进行分选并装载到液滴载体中；因此，可以实现按尺寸对货物进行靶向递送。还研究了反向电脉冲下液滴载体之间货物的交换，结果表明该方法在货物递送方面具有灵活性。此外，通过控制电脉冲下酵母细胞的装载和释放，证明了该方法在生物货物方面的可能应用。该方法具有操作简便、响应迅速的优点，为利用液滴进行可控货物递送提供了一条新途径。
