Amphiphilic microgels based on the hydrophilic acrylic acid (AA) and hydrophobic crosslinks of different compositions were synthesised using a lab-on-a-chip device. The microgels were formed by polymerising hydrophobic droplets. The droplets were generated via a microfluidic platform and contained a protected form of AA, a hydrophobic crosslinke r (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, EGDMA) and a free radical initiator in an organic solvent. Following photopolymerisation and subsequent hydrolysis, AA based microgels of amphiphilic nature were produced and it was demonstrated that they can successfully deliver both hydrophilic as well as hydrophobic moieties. The model drug delivery and the swelling ability of the microgels were influenced by the pH of the aqueous solution as well as the crosslinking density and hydrophobic content of the microgels.

Novel amphiphilic microgels with hydrophobic and hydrophilic monomer units on the polymer chains were fabricated with an on-chip polymerisation methodology using a novel chip design.

Cationic, amphiphilic microgels of differing compositions based on hydrophilic, pH, and thermoresponsive 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) and hydrophobic, nonionic n-butyl acrylate (BuA) are synthesized using a lab-on-a-chip device. Hydrophobic oil-in-water (o/w) droplets are generated via a microfluidic platform, with the dispersed (droplet) phase containing the DMAEMA and BuA, alongside the hydrophobic cross-linker, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and a free radical initiator in an organic solvent. Finally, the hydrophobic droplets are photopolymerized via a UV light source as they traverse the microfluidic channel to produce the cationic amphiphilic microgels. This platform enables the rapid, automated, and in situ production of amphiphilic microgels, which do not match the core-shell structure of conventionally prepared microgels but are instead based on random amphiphilic copolymers of DMAEMA and BuA between the hydrophobic cross-links. The microgels are characterized in terms of their swelling and encapsulation abilities, which are found to be influenced by both the pH response and the hydrophobic content of the microgels.

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