Hey !
I am trying to use DCM or toluene in droplet microfluidic experiment in PDMS for drug encapsulation purposes, but DCM systematically swells my PDMS chip, clogging my channels. Some papers claim that they could produce particles using DCM with polymer dissolved inside without reporting any trouble during the production but it seems not possible for me.
Does anyone have suggestions about a simple chemical coating or manufacturing procedure I could use to prevent swelling in my PDMS channels when I use toluene/DCM/Chloroform ?
Many thanks for your help !
Organics will always be a struggle with pdms. I know people have used sol gel approaches to coat channels in the past. There are also fluorocarbon based silicone gels that are more compatible then pdms (and significantly more expensive).
In our lab we use a 3D printed droplet generator design that has high chemical compatibility (https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms10780).
Hope this helps!
Hey !
Thanks both for your answers, looking forward to see your publication Ramim !
Joseph, your paper is really interesting, not sure if the paper is from your lab of if you are using the same principle, but do you have an idea of the 3D printer used for the manufacturing of the device ? They just mention a manufacturer.
The droplet mechanism is really interesting, does it relies on the properties of the wall of your 3D design (hydrophilic/hydrophobic)
Also is there any chance you tested this device with more viscous solutions, such as hydrogel polymers ?
For other people interested, I have also found in several papers that for solvent in water droplet applications, the coating to turn the PDMS hydrophilic added with glycerol tends to significantly decrease the swelling PDMS.
Thanks again !
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