Microfluidic Directed Self-Assembly of Soft Matter Nanoparticles

These precursor nanoparticles were collected off-chip and were irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) light in bulk to polymerize the nanoparticle interiors into hydrogel cores. Multi-angle laser light scattering in conjunction with asymmetric flow field-flow fractionation was used to Figure 1: Numerical simulations show the mixing of water and isopropyl alcohol in a microfluidic device. The alcohol, which would contain dissolved phospholipids during the directed selfassembly process, flows from the left to the right via the center inlet. The alcohol is focused by an aqueous solution, which would contain dissolved hybrid nanoparticle precursors and fluorescent molecules during the directed self-assembly process, which flows in from the top and bottom inlets. Adjusting the fluid flow rates creates a tightly focused stream (top) or a broader one (bottom), controlling the size distribution of the resulting nanoscale lipid vesicles. We investigate the directed self-assembly of nanoscale lipid vesicles by microfluidic mixing [1], the application of these nanoscale vesicles as templates for liposome-hydrogel hybrid nanoparticles [2], and the characterization of single molecule encapsulation within these nanoscale vesicles [3].