Coating-Free Methods for Forming Liposomes Using Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Composite Microfluidic Device

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Microfluidics
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Liposomes are crucial drug delivery vehicles.
• Microfluidic devices offer precise control over liposome formation.
• Current fabrication methods can be complex and difficult to scale.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a simplified and efficient method for fabricating a device for liposome formation in microchannels.
• To optimize the fabrication process for reliable liposome production.
• To characterize the size uniformity of the generated liposomes.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a microfluidic device using patterned hydrophilic and hydrophobic polydimethylsiloxane on a mold substrate.
• Optimization of the device fabrication process.
• Evaluation of liposome formation using fluorescence microscopy.
• Confirmation of liposome integrity by dye encapsulation and lipid bilayer visualization.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of a device enabling liposome formation in microchannels.
• Confirmation of liposome formation through fluorescence microscopy, showing encapsulated dye and lipid bilayers.
• Achieved good size uniformity in the collected liposomes, with a coefficient of variation of 13%.

Conclusions:

• The simplified device fabrication strategy is effective for producing liposomes in microchannels.
• The developed method yields liposomes with high size uniformity.
• This approach presents a promising platform for scalable and controlled liposome generation.