Functional Microcapsules via Thiol-Ene Photopolymerization in Droplet-Based Microfluidics

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Feb 1;9(4):3288-3293. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b16382. Epub 2017 Jan 20.

Abstract

Thiol-ene chemistry was exploited in droplet-based microfluidics to fabricate advanced microcapsules with tunable encapsulation, degradation, and thermal properties. In addition, by utilizing the thiol-ene photopolymerization with tunable cross-link density, we demonstrate the importance of monomer conversion on the retention of omniphilic cargo in double emulsion templated microcapsules. Furthermore, we highlight the rapid cure kinetics afforded by thiol-ene chemistry in a continuous flow photopatterning device for hemispherical microparticle production.

Keywords: degradable; encapsulation; microfluidics; photopatterning; thiol−ene.