Electrically controllable cargo delivery with dextran-rich droplets.

The controllable delivery of cargo is of great importance in many areas, ranging from medicine and materials science to food and cosmetic industries. To fulfil the requirements in different areas, the development of new methods for cargo delivery in a controllable manner is always essential. A novel technique of cargo delivery controlled by electric pulse was developed in this paper. In an aqueous two-phase system, the dextran-rich droplets were fabricated as droplet carriers in a continuous polyethylene glycol-rich phase. The loading and releasing of model cargos (polystyrene particles) across the surface of the droplet carriers under electric pulses were demonstrated in microfluidic chips. By controlling the amplitude of the applied electric pulses, the cargos with designed sizes were sorted and loaded into the droplet carriers; hence, the targeted delivery of cargos by size can be achieved. The exchange of cargos between droplet carriers under reversed electric pulses was also investigated, and the results indicated the flexibility of this method in cargo delivery. Moreover, possible application of this method to biological cargos was demonstrated by controlling the loading and releasing of yeast cells under electric pulses. With the advantages of easy operation and fast response, this approach provides a novel route for controllable cargo delivery with droplets. Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Mengqi Li, Dongqing Li. Electrically controllable cargo delivery with dextran-rich droplets. Journal of colloid and interface science. 2021 Jan 15;582(Pt A):102-111

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PMID: 32814218

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