Microfluidic Development Services for Emulsion Synthesis

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Emulsions are metastable dispersions of stabilized liquids in another immiscible, and have long been used in various applications, such as the production of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, foods, electronics, polymers, and colloids or oil industry. Microfluidic devices offer an alternate and versatile route to produce emulsions controlled by precisely fabricating one drop at a time. As a pioneer and the undisputed global leader in the field of microfluidic development, Creative Biolabs offers a suite of custom microfluidics development services, especially droplet microfluidics development to generate single, double, and multiple emulsions with exceptional precision.

Introduction of Emulsions

Mixed with two immiscible liquids, emulsions can be divided into simple emulsions and multiple emulsions. Simple emulsions are two-phase dispersions, such as oil-in-water or water-in-oil; while multiple emulsions consist of larger drops containing single and multiple inner compartments, also known as complex multi-phase dispersions. Except for the wide usage in many traditional fields, emulsions can serve as ideal templates for generating well-defined particles and functional vesicles. They function as the intermediate products in the synthesis of microcapsules used for protecting actives from chemical degradation or evaporation and for delayed/triggered release.

Microfluidics Revolutionize the Formation of Emulsions

Microfluidics is a technique for the precise generation of particles of the same size and it has become a cornerstone platform technology to produce microscale droplets, particles, and emulsions. Compared to conventional bulk methods, microfluidics-based particle production shows significant advantages.

Emulsification Methods	Characters
Conventional Bulk Methods	Large production scales with high volume Low energy (shear or impact stresses) Highly polydisperse in size Wide range of applications Low maintenance
Microfluidics Emulsification	Small scale production with low volume Narrower particle size distribution with accurate size Higher reproducibility with low batch-to-batch variation Improved encapsulation efficiency Enhanced scaling-up potency with high monodispersity Better control over particle characters (size and number) High maintenance

Microfluidics Based Emulsions Production for Drug Delivery

Microfluidics provides a convenient method for producing single emulsions, double emulsions, or multiple emulsions, which serve as templates for making advanced materials including microparticles, microcapsules and microgels, subsequently, these materials can be developed for encapsulation and controlled release and applied in the field of drug delivery.

Fig. 1 Nanoparticle generation by microfluidic. Fig. 1 Microfluidic nanoparticle generation.^1,3

Featured Services at Creative Biolabs

Microfluidics has been used to gain a better understanding of droplet formation and emulsion production, as well as stability and other characteristics study. Based on our advanced platforms, Creative Biolabs provides droplet-based microfluidic chip and device development services with the highest quality standards. Our droplet microfluidics technology is a promising method to generate monodisperse emulsions with precise control of entire material fabrication processes. We can also offer custom solutions in case our standard chips do not meet your requirements.

Fig 2 Emulsions synthesis. (Creative Biolabs Authorized)

Single Emulsions Double Emulsions Multiple Emulsions

Creative Biolabs has developed various microfluidics systems to benefit emulsion production. If you are interested in our services, please do not hesitate to contact us for more detailed information. We are always pleased to help customers evaluate microfluidics concepts quickly and easily.

Published Data

The following are results highlighted in articles related to the advancement of microfluidic technology for emulsion synthesis:

1. Microfluidic step-emulsification enhanced by gas for generating micron- and submicron-sized droplets.

Fig. 3 Schematic diagram of the device for producing hollow-core double emulsions. Fig. 3 Illustration of the apparatus designed for generating hollow-core double emulsions.^2,3

Micron and submicron droplets are utilized in various applications within biomedical diagnostics and drug delivery. To achieve precise high-throughput analysis, it is essential to have a consistent droplet size distribution coupled with high productivity. Biao Huang and colleagues introduced a new method for gas-assisted co-flow stepwise emulsification, utilizing air as the innermost component of the precursor hollow air/oil/water emulsion.^2,3 The air gradually escapes, resulting in the formation of oil droplets. Both the dimensions of the hollow droplets and the thickness of the ultrathin oil layer adhere to the scaling law of three-phase stepwise emulsification. The smallest droplet size achieved is one that standard all-liquid phase stepwise emulsification cannot reach.

References

Roces, Lou, et al. " Manufacturing Considerations for the Development of Lipid Nanoparticles Using Microfluidics." Pharmaceutics 12.11 (2020): 1095.
Huang, Biao, et al. "Gas-assisted microfluidic step-emulsification for generating micron-and submicron-sized droplets." Microsystems & Nanoengineering 9.1 (2023): 86.
Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0, without modification

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.