Merits and advances of microfluidics in the pharmaceutical field: design technologies and future prospects

Abstract

Microfluidics is used to manipulate fluid flow in micro-channels to fabricate drug delivery vesicles in a uniform tunable size. Thanks to their designs, microfluidic technology provides an alternative and versatile platform over traditional formulation methods of nanoparticles. Understanding the factors that affect the formulation of nanoparticles can guide the proper selection of microfluidic design and the operating parameters aiming at producing nanoparticles with reproducible properties. This review introduces the microfluidic systems’ continuous flow (single-phase) and segmented flow (multiphase) and their different mixing parameters and mechanisms. Furthermore, microfluidic approaches for efficient production of nanoparticles as surface modification, anti-fouling, and post-microfluidic treatment are summarized. The review sheds light on the used microfluidic systems and operation parameters applied to prepare and fine-tune nanoparticles like lipid, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)-based nanoparticles as well as cross-linked nanoparticles. The approaches for scale-up production using microfluidics for clinical or industrial use are also highlighted. Furthermore, the use of microfluidics in preparing novel micro/nanofluidic drug delivery systems is presented. In conclusion, the characteristic vital features of microfluidics offer the ability to develop precise and efficient drug delivery nanoparticles.

Droplets microfluidics platform—A tool for single cell research

“…In the past few decades, droplet microfluidics technology has developed rapidly, and it has been used in the design of microreactors because of its strong controllability in performing various operations ( Chen et al, 2022 ; Jobdeedamrong et al, 2023 ). Due to their compatibility with many chemical and biological reagents, droplet microfluidic systems have been used to prepare complex reactants and special materials, such as polymer particles ( Juang and Chiu, 2022 ), microgel particles ( Rojek et al, 2022 ), and nanoparticles ( Küçüktürkmen et al, 2022 ; Maged et al, 2022 ; Niculescu et al, 2022 ). Moreover, droplet microfluidics is widely used in biomedical research due to their simple and easy operation and high-throughput encapsulation capability.…”

Biomaterials for Tissue Engineering Applications and Current Updates in the Field: A Comprehensive Review

“…Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) is a linear aliphatic copolymer composed of monomers of lactic acid and glycolic acid [100][101][102]. It could be synthesized • Excellent mechanical properties • The composite succeeded to sustain the drug release (≈50%) for 56 h presenting it as a promising wound dressing by the polycondensation of lactic and glycolic acids, which produces PLGA with low molecular weight and relatively high molecular weight distribution.…”

An Injectable Hydrogel Scaffold Loaded with Dual-Drug/Sustained-Release PLGA Microspheres for the Regulation of Macrophage Polarization in the Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

“…PLGA microspheres were prepared by the microfluidic method [24,53]. The velocity of the oil phase was controlled by a microfluidic injection pump (LSP01-1B).…”

“…Measurement of Pore Size, Porosity, and Particle Size Using SEM images, ImageJ software 2.3.0 (NIH, Bethesda, MD, USA) evaluated the pore size of the freeze-dried hydrogels and the particle size of the freeze-dried PLGA microspheres. We estimated porosity with the ethanol exchange approach [53]. To determine the wet weight, we weighed the dry hydrogel (W a ), and it was then immersed in anhydrous ethanol (W b ).…”