Use of a microfluidic platform for polymersomes fabrication

• Main Author: Tan, Li Ling
• Other Authors: -
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2020
• Subjects: Engineering::Nanotechnology; Engineering::Materials
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/143963
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Tailorable properties of synthetic polymer-based polymersomes have promised great potential for this vesicular carrier in drug delivery applications. Microfluidics (MF) presents a high-throughput, highly tunable and reproducible means for fabricating polymersome formulations of good monodispersity – the method is thus of interest to be explored. A review of polymersomes, its traditional fabrication techniques, and the microfluidic approach will be covered in this project. Poly (butadiene)-b-(ethylene oxide) (PBd-b-EO) based polymersomes of different molecular weights have been formulated via a MF approach, using a staggered herringbone mixer (SHM) device. MF conditions, namely, choice of organic solvent, flow rate and flow rate ratio, were tuned to obtain optimal formulations of blank polymersomes. The MF method was compared to the thin-film hydration technique, and MF was found to be more suitable for PBd(1.7)-b-EO(1) (in kDa). Dynamic light scattering, Static Light Scattering and Cryogenic Transmission Electron Microscopy were used to verify the morphology of the nanoparticles. Polymersomes were also loaded with hydrophilic Dexamethasone Sodium Phosphate (Dex-NaP), and liquid chromatography was used to evaluate drug encapsulation and release from the polymersomes. Unfortunately, burst release and poor encapsulation were observed for the Dex-NaP PBd-b-EO samples, thus further study remains to be done to understand the mechanisms behind polymersome formation in SHM MF devices, and its efficacies in hydrophilic drug loading.