Water and Oil Insoluble PEGDA-Based Microcapsule: Biocompatible and Multicomponent Encapsulation

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Microfluidics
• Drug Delivery

Background:

• Limited reports exist on multicomponent encapsulation in biocompatible microcapsules.
• Existing materials for biomolecule encapsulation often struggle with simultaneous encapsulation of diverse cargo types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a method for simultaneous encapsulation of hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargoes in biocompatible microcapsules.
• To utilize poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) and microfluidics for efficient multicomponent encapsulation.

Main Methods:

• Utilized droplet microfluidics for precise microcapsule fabrication.
• Leveraged the molecular weight-dependent solubility of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) to create a distinct middle phase.
• Employed PEGDA 250 as the middle phase for simultaneous cargo encapsulation.

Main Results:

• Successfully achieved direct encapsulation of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic cargoes within PEG microcapsules.
• Demonstrated that PEGDA-based microcapsules enable simultaneous encapsulation of diverse cargo types.
• Confirmed effective encapsulation of complex biomolecules, such as proteins, within the developed microcapsules.

Conclusions:

• The developed PEGDA-based microfluidic approach offers a versatile platform for multicomponent encapsulation.
• This method overcomes limitations in encapsulating both hydrophilic and hydrophobic substances simultaneously.
• The technique holds promise for advanced applications in drug delivery and biomaterial development.