Segregation of Dispersed Silica Nanoparticles in Microfluidic Water-in-Oil Droplets: A Kinetic Study

Dispersed negatively charged silica nanoparticles segregate inside microfluidic water-in-oil (W/O) droplets that are coated with a positively charged lipid shell. We report a methodology for the quantitative analysis of this self-assembly process. By using real-time fluorescence microscopy and automated analysis of the recorded images, kinetic data are obtained that characterize the electrostatically-driven self-assembly. We demonstrate that the segregation rates can be controlled by the installment of functional moieties on the nanoparticle's surface, such as nucleic acid and protein molecules. We anticipate that our method enables the quantitative and systematic investigation of the segregation of (bio)functionalized nanoparticles in microfluidic droplets. This could lead to complex supramolecular architectures on the inner surface of micrometer-sized hollow spheres, which might be used, for example, as cell containers for applications in the life sciences.