| 초록 |
We report a new microfluidic emulsification technique for production of water-in-oil-in-water (W/O/W) double-emulsion drops with an ultra-thin middle layer as templates for microcapsules. By emulsifying biphasic core-sheath flows into the third fluid in a capillary microfluidic device, double-emulsion drops with ultra-thin middle layer are generated in unprecedentedly controlled fashion. Such ultra-thin shell provides high degree of confinement of the core drops due to strong lubrication resistance along whole surface, making the double-emulsion drops highly stable. Therefore, they serve as attractive templates for production of microcapsules; any water-soluble material can be safely encapsulated into microcapsules through solidification of thin middle phase. The solidification can be achieved by either evaporation-induced consolidation or photopolymerization. The resultant capsules will provide new opportunities for practical delivery systems of chemicals and bioactive agents. |
