Synthesis and Biodistribution of 99mTc-Labeled PLGA Nanoparticles by Microfluidic Technique

The aim of present study was to develop radiolabeled NPs to overcome the limitations of fluorescence with theranostic potential. Synthesis of PLGA-NPs loaded with technetium-99m was based on a Dean-Vortex-Bifurcation Mixer (DVBM) using an innovative microfluidic technique with high batch-to-batch reproducibility and tailored-made size of NPs. Eighteen different formulations were tested and characterized for particle size, zeta potential, polydispersity index, labeling efficiency, and in vitro stability. Overall, physical characterization by dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed an increase in particle size after radiolabeling probably due to the incorporation of the isotope into the PLGA-NPs shell. NPs of 60 nm (obtained by 5:1 PVA:PLGA ratio and 15 mL/min TFR with 99mTc included in PVA) had high labeling efficiency (94.20 ± 5.83%) and > 80% stability after 24 h and showed optimal biodistribution in BALB/c mice. In conclusion, we confirmed the possibility of radiolabeling NPs with 99mTc using the microfluidics and provide best formulation for tumor targeting studies.

Physicochemical characterization of Novel Particulate Delivery Systems for Antitumor/metastatic Therapeutics

The main objective of this project was to overcome the drawbacks of the emulsification techniques during rising a delivery system for a novel and potent anticancer drug, CK-10, projected for enlightening the therapeutic index of the drug. Emulsion/Solvent evaporation and innovative microfluidic techniques were used to frame the nanoparticles. Loading efficiency and in-vitro release were characterized by a modified Lowry assay. Size and zeta potential were analyzed by dynamic light scattering, laser obscuration time, and tuneable pore resistive sensing. Compatibility and shelf life were tested by differential scanning calorimeter and Fourier transform infra-red. The extent of the nanoparticles degradation was measured by color indicator and potentiometric titrations. The result showed that PLGA/B Cyclodextrin nanoparticles had a higher peptide loading efficiency by 53.92% for the novel microfluidic technique as well as higher in-vitro release and better degradation. PLGA/B Cyclodextrin and PLGA/HPMA nanoparticles had a closely related size and zeta potential. It was concluded that the novel microfluidic technique could augment the physicochemical properties of the CK-10 nanoparticles to improve its pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics.

Design and fabrication of 125I seeds for brachytherapy using capillary-based microfluidic technique

A new kind of 125I seeds with a core-shell structure were synthesized by an easy assembling–disassembling coaxial capillaries microfluidic device. The dose distribution of a 125I brachytherapy source fabricated by arranging six 125I seeds collinearly within a cylindrical titanium capsule was simulated by modelling the source in a water phantom using Monte Carlo N-Particle Transport code. The influence of the motion and the core size of the 125I seeds on the dose distribution was also studied in this work.

Honey, I shrunk the bubbles: microfluidic vacuum shrinkage of lipid-stabilized microbubbles

We present a microfluidic technique that shrinks lipidstabilized microbubbles from O(100) to O(1) µm in diameter–the size that is desirable in applications as ultrasound contrast agents. We achieve microbubble shrinkage by utilizing vacuum channels that are adjacent to the microfluidic flow channels to extract air from the microbubbles. We tune a single parameter, the vacuum pressure, to accurately control the final microbubble size. Finally, we demonstrate that the resulting O(1) µm diameter microbubbles have similar stability to microfluidics generated microbubbles that are not exposed to vacuum shrinkage. We anticipate that, with additional scale-up, this simple approach to shrink microbubbles generated microfluidically will be desirable in ultrasound imaging and therapeutics applications.

Honey, I shrunk the bubbles: microfluidic vacuum shrinkage of lipid-stabilized microbubbles

We present a microfluidic technique that shrinks lipidstabilized microbubbles from O(100) to O(1) µm in diameter–the size that is desirable in applications as ultrasound contrast agents. We achieve microbubble shrinkage by utilizing vacuum channels that are adjacent to the microfluidic flow channels to extract air from the microbubbles. We tune a single parameter, the vacuum pressure, to accurately control the final microbubble size. Finally, we demonstrate that the resulting O(1) µm diameter microbubbles have similar stability to microfluidics generated microbubbles that are not exposed to vacuum shrinkage. We anticipate that, with additional scale-up, this simple approach to shrink microbubbles generated microfluidically will be desirable in ultrasound imaging and therapeutics applications.

Geminate labels programmed by two-tone microdroplets combining structural and fluorescent color

Creating a security label that carries entirely distinct information in reflective and fluorescent states would enhance anti-counterfeiting levels to deter counterfeits ranging from currencies to pharmaceuticals, but has proven extremely challenging. Efforts to tune the reflection color of luminescent materials by modifying inherent chemical structures remain outweighed by substantial trade-offs in fluorescence properties, and vice versa, which destroys the information integrity of labels in either reflection or fluorescent color. Here, a strategy is reported to design geminate labels by programming fluorescent cholesteric liquid crystal microdroplets (two-tone inks), where the luminescent material is ‘coated’ with the structural color from helical superstructures. These structurally defined microdroplets fabricated by a capillary microfluidic technique contribute to different but intact messages of both reflective and fluorescent patterns in the geminate labels. Such two-tone inks have enormous potential to provide a platform for encryption and protection of valuable authentic information in anti-counterfeiting technology.