文献类型：期刊文献

英文题名：Generation of liquid metal double emulsion droplets using gravity-induced microfluidics

作者：Fan, Qiyue[1,2];Guo, Yaohao[1,2];Zhao, Shuangliang[1,2,3,4];Bao, Bo[1,2]

机构：[1]East China Univ Sci & Technol, State Key Lab Chem Engn, Shanghai 200237, Peoples R China;[2]East China Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Chem Engn, Shanghai 200237, Peoples R China;[3]Guangxi Univ, Guangxi Key Lab Petrochem Resource Proc & Proc I, Nanning 530004, Peoples R China;[4]Guangxi Univ, Sch Chem & Chem Engn, Nanning 530004, Peoples R China

年份：2022

卷号：12

期号：32

起止页码：20686

外文期刊名：RSC ADVANCES

收录：;EI(收录号：20223312573488);WOS:【SCI-EXPANDED(收录号:WOS:000827080300001)】；

基金：This work has been supported by Natural Science Foundation of the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality. (No. 19ZR1472200).

语种：英文

外文关键词：Controlled drug delivery - Drops - Emulsification - Flexible electronics - Hydrogels - Medical applications - Metals - Microfluidics - Sailing vessels - Targeted drug delivery

摘要：Several microfluidic applications are available for liquid metal droplet generation, but the surface oxidation of liquid metal has placed limitations on its application. Multiphase microfluidics makes it possible to protect the inner droplets by producing the structure of double emulsion droplets. Thus, the generation of liquid metal double emulsion droplets has been developed to prevent the surface oxidation of Galinstan. However, the generation using common methods faces considerable challenges due to the gravity effect introduced from the high density of liquid metal, making it difficult for the shell phase to wrap the inner phase. To overcome this obstacle, we introduce an innovative method - a gravity-induced microfluidic device - to creatively generate controllable liquid metal double emulsion droplets, achieved by altering the measurable inclination angle of the plane. It is found that when the inclination angle ranges from 30 degrees to 45 degrees, the device manages to generate liquid metal double emulsion droplets with perfect double sphere-type configuration. Additionally, the core-shell liquid metal hydrogel capsules present potential applications as multifunctional materials for controlled release systems in drug delivery and biomedical applications. By regulating pH or imposing mechanical force, the hydrogel shell can be dissolved to recover the electrical conductivity of Galinstan for applications in flexible electronics, self-healing conductors, elastomer electronic skin, and tumor therapy.