Controlled Vesicle Self-Assembly in Continuous Two Phase Flow Microfluidic Channels

Published

June 10, 2004

Author(s)

Andreas Jahn, Wyatt N. Vreeland, Laurie E. Locascio, Michael Gaitan

Abstract

The spontaneous self-assembly of phospholipids into liposomes in aqueous solution results in the encapsulation of reagents into quantized packets in a manner that mimics cellular life-processes. Since their discovery in 1965, liposomes have been used in a variety of biological applications including targeted delivery of chemotherapeutic drugs and DNA vectors, or as model systems for the study of biological membranes to name a few. Traditional liposome preparation methods are all conducted through mixing of bulk phases, leading to inhomogeneous chemical and/or mechanical conditions during liposome formation, hence liposomes are often polydisperse in size and lamellarity. Here we show formation of liposomes that encapsulate reagents in a continuous 2-phase flow planar microfluidic network with precision control of size, over the range of 100 to 300 nm, by manipulation of liquid flow rates. We demonstrate that by creating a solvent-aqueous interfacial region in a microfluidic format that is homogenous and controllable on the length scale of a liposome facilitates fine control of liposome size and polydispersity.

Proceedings Title

Proceedings of Hilton Head 2004, A Solid-State Sensor, Actuator, and Microsystem Workshop

Conference Dates

June 6-10, 2004

Conference Location

Hilton Head Island, SC, USA

Conference Title

Hilton Head 2004, A Solid-State Sensor, Actuator, and Microsystem Workshop

Pub Type

Conferences

Download Paper

Local Download

Keywords

Liposome, Microfluidic Systems, Reagent Encapsulation, Self Assembly

Citation

Jahn, A. , Vreeland, W. , Locascio, L. and Gaitan, M. (2004), Controlled Vesicle Self-Assembly in Continuous Two Phase Flow Microfluidic Channels, Proceedings of Hilton Head 2004, A Solid-State Sensor, Actuator, and Microsystem Workshop, Hilton Head Island, SC, USA, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=31518 (Accessed October 28, 2025)