High-throughput continuous production of liposomes using hydrodynamic flow-focusing microfluidic devices

Author(s)

Michelon, Mariano ; Bernardes Oliveira, Davi Rocha ; Furtado, Guilherme de Figueiredo ; de la Torre, Lucimara Gaziola ; Cunha, Rosiane Lopes

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: COLLOIDS AND SURFACES B-BIOINTERFACES; v. 156, p. 349-357, AUG 1 2017.
• Web of Science Citations: 10

Abstract

The microfluidic hydrodynamic flow-focusing is a simple technique for nanoscale liposome formation that provides several advantages compared to the traditional manufacturing techniques. This work aimed to perform a systematic study of the liposome formation using planar microfluidic devices with different channel aspect-ratios, as an alternative to enhance the throughput of liposome synthesis. In general, liposomes with a low polydispersity and a precise control of the size were successfully produced from alteration of the flow rate ratio and channel aspect-ratio. The higher aspect-ratio enabled the most rapid generation of liposomes with similar diameter and significant lower polydispersity index than the obtained by other batch technique. Besides, beta-carotene was successfully incorporated into liposomes with efficiency of approximately 60% and the incorporation ability was not specific to a choice of microfluidic device aspect-ratio. The results suggest that the use of microfluidic devices could be employed for liposome production with a possible advantage to minimize the degree of parallelization of processes. These results demonstrate the potential technical feasibility of microfluidic processes for future industrial applications. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/54137-1 - Acquisition of a particle size/distribution analyzer, a zeta potential measurement system, a spray dryer, and an ultra-high-pressure liquid chromatograph/mass spectrometer
• Grantee: Miriam Dupas Hubinger
• Support Opportunities: Multi-user Equipment Program