Tuning of Hydrogel Architectures by Ionotropic Gelation in Microfluidics: Beyond Batch Processing to Multimodal Diagnostics

Abstract

Microfluidics is emerging as a promising tool to control physicochemical properties of nanoparticles and to accelerate clinical translation. Indeed, microfluidic-based techniques offer more advantages in nanomedicine over batch processes, allowing fine-tuning of process parameters. In particular, the use of microfluidics to produce nanoparticles has paved the way for the development of nano-scaled structures for improved detection and treatment of several diseases. Here, ionotropic gelation is implemented in a custom-designed microfluidic chip to produce different nanoarchitectures based on chitosan-hyaluronic acid polymers. The selected biomaterials provide biocompatibility, biodegradability and non-toxic properties to the formulation, making it promising for nanomedicine applications. Furthermore, results show that morphological structures can be tuned through microfluidics by controlling the flow rates. Aside from the nanostructures, the ability to encapsulate gadolinium contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging and a dye for optical imaging is demonstrated. In conclusion, the polymer nanoparticles here designed revealed the dual capability of enhancing the relaxometric properties of gadolinium by attaining Hydrodenticity and serving as a promising nanocarrier for multimodal imaging applications.

Insulin Activation Mediated by Uptake Mechanisms: A Comparison of the Behavior between Polymer Nanoparticles and Extracellular Vesicles in 3D Liver Tissues

“…Although some achievements have been accomplished in the design of nanosized architectures, − the evaluation of nano-bio-interactions to control their effectiveness in a relevant biological environment is still a fundamental challenge of nanomedicine . This is particularly true if considering, for example, the impact that the uptake mechanism triggered by a specific nanoparticle design can have in the delivery and release of drugs and thus directly on their activation.…”

coupled Hydrodynamic Flow Focusing (cHFF) to Engineer Lipid–Polymer Nanoparticles (LiPoNs) for Multimodal Imaging and Theranostic Applications

“…In particular, Hydrodynamic Flow Focusing (HFF), in the forms of emulsion and solvent extraction, has been widely exploited to produce micro- and nanoparticles [ 3 ]. Furthermore, several microfluidic X-shaped geometries were investigated to synthesize polymer nanocarriers mainly consisting of chitosan [ 4 ], hyaluronic acid [ 5 , 6 ] and poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) PLGA [ 3 , 7 ].…”