Microfluidic System Incorporating Layer-By-Layer Nanofabricated Capsules

A microfluidic system was designed, fabricated and implemented to study the behavior of polyelectrolyte capsules flowing in microscale channels. The silicon component of the system contains microchannels that leads into constrictions, which were fabricated using lithography techniques. Polyelectrolyte microcapsules were also fabricated with well-known layer-by-layer assembly technique, on a spherical template. Once the template was removed, the resulting hollow capsules were introduced into the system. The behavior of the capsules at the constrictions was visualized and the properties of the capsules were investigated. Capsules recovered from the system appear to have a undergone a plastic deformation.