Formation of PEG-DA polymerized microparticles by different microfluidics devices: A T-junction device and a flow focusing device

Hydrogels have become a key class of materials that could be used in several fields such as biotechnology and nanotechnology. They can be classified as natural and synthetic according to their base material. Poly (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEG-DA) is a synthetic hydrogel, which can be considered for a wide variety of applications in the fields of biomedical research, drug delivery, tissue engineering and scaffolds among others. For these reasons, the design and the use of droplet-based microfluidics devices are important for the production of these microparticles of PEG-DA, which have gained popularity. In this research, two microfluidics devices are analyzed; a microfluidic T-junction device and a microfluidic flow focusing device. These devices are fabricated by using poly (dimethyl siloxane). The research is based on the flow rate variation of the dispersed phase (PEG-DA solution) and the continuous phase (Mineral oil) to establish the best conditions to the formation of the microparticles. Results show that the variation of the continuous phase flow rates and the geometry have an influence in the droplet formation mechanism. In addition, it is interesting to observe the flow rates in which the droplet formation occurs and which it does not.