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Tuning Surface Morphology of Fluorescent Hydrogels Using a Vortex Fluidic Device.
Javad Tavakoli1,2, Colin L Raston2, Youhong Tang2
1Centre for Health Technologies, School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo NSW 2007, Australia.
Molecules (Basel, Switzerland)
|August 6, 2020
Summary
A new vortex fluidic device (VFD) offers a one-step method for fabricating diverse hydrogels, overcoming limitations of traditional microfluidic techniques for advanced material design.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Biomedical Engineering
- Chemical Engineering
Background:
- Microfluidic techniques are crucial for hydrogel design but face challenges like clogging and limited architectural control.
- Current methods struggle with batch production and extended fabrication times, hindering scalability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To introduce a novel vortex fluidic device (VFD) platform for efficient, one-step hydrogel fabrication.
- To demonstrate the VFD's capability in creating hydrogels with varied architectural features and properties.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a vortex fluidic device (VFD) for the one-step fabrication of hydrogels.
- Investigated the VFD's application in creating physically crosslinked hydrogels, fluorescent hydrogels, and tuning structure-property relationships.
Main Results:
- The VFD enables the fabrication of hydrogels with diverse surface morphologies and excellent photostability.
- Successfully tuned structure-property relationships in hydrogels using the VFD platform.
- Demonstrated the VFD's potential for creating complex hydrogel architectures like spheres, core-shells, and fibers.
Conclusions:
- The VFD presents a promising microfluidic platform for advanced hydrogel fabrication, overcoming existing limitations.
- Future research using VFDs could lead to novel hydrogel nanocomposites for biomedical and engineering applications.
