Fabrication of antigen‐containing nanoparticles using microfluidics with Tesla structure

Abstract

The polyethyleneimine (PEI)-based antigen delivery system has been proved valuable for therapeutic vaccines. However, the previous bulk mixing method is not ideal to prepare PEI-base antigen-containing nanoparticles. The wide-size distribution and poor reproducibility limit its further application. In this research, we developed a microfluidic method to prepare nanopolyplexes on chips with Tesla structure to improve the fabrication. The structure and bioactivity of protein were not hampered by the shearing force in microfluidics. Comparison between physiochemical parameters suggested that the polyplexes prepared by Tesla chips were more uniform than those prepared by bulk mixing and non-Tesla chips. The reproducibility was improved obviously. The preparation was not influence much by the operating parameters such as flow rates, reagents concentration, and switching of inlets. The results indicated that it was a robust and reliable method. The data that were obtained from BMDC model demonstrated that the nanopolyplexes with optimal weight ratio had higher antigen cross-presentation efficiency than those in free antigen group. In conclusion, Tesla structured microfluidics offers a better method over bulk mixing in the preparation of PEI-based antigen-containing nanopolyplexes. It greatly expands the scope of our study and increases the potential of PEI-based antigen delivery system.

Microfluidic-Based Cationic Cholesterol Lipid siRNA Delivery Nanosystem: Highly Efficient In Vitro Gene Silencing and the Intracellular Behavior

“…The structure was illustrated in Figure 1 A,B, clearly showing the microscopic size and shape characteristic. siRNA lyophilized powder was diluted with diethylpyrocarbonate (DEPC)-treated ddH 2 O to 2 μM and the solution was injected from one inlet, while CEL was dissolved with DEPC-treated ddH 2 O to different concentrations according to N/P ratio and injected from another inlet using syringe pumps (Langer, LSP01-2A and LSP02-1B, Hebei, China), similar to our previous study [ 46 ]. Initially, the single factor experiment was designed to optimize two important parameters, FRR and TFR.…”

Microfluidic Devices: A Tool for Nanoparticle Synthesis and Performance Evaluation

“…This design significantly enhanced the mixing in the gear-shaped channel, leading to more homogeneous silica NPs populations with reduced energy consumption. Additionally, a tesla-micromixer was used to produce antigen-coated NPs (Figure B.2) . This peculiar structure effectively enhanced the mixing of fluids by inducing transversal convection, leading to NPs with smaller sizes, higher monodispersity, and reproducibility.…”

“…Additionally, a tesla-micromixer was used to produce antigen-coated NPs (Figure 4B.2). 101 This peculiar structure effectively enhanced the mixing of fluids by inducing transversal convection, leading to NPs with smaller sizes, higher monodispersity, and reproducibility. Tesla's micromixer efficiency usually relies on the asymmetric structure of the channel or the flow rate ratio of the fluids.…”

Polymeric nanomaterial strategies to encapsulate and deliver biological drugs: points to consider between methods

“…For example, the use of a Tesla structure in microfluidic devices has been shown to benefit insulin encapsulation in PLGA NPs; primary parameters such as flow rate and the concentration of PLGA and insulin do not interfere with the physical characteristics of the produced NPs. 162 Whether these could be translated to general BD-loaded polymeric NP production with microfluidic devices still needs investigation. Overall, it is suggested that the combination of conventional synthesis methods with microfluidic devices can facilitate the use of polymers for BD encapsulation in the future.…”