Nanoparticle Production via Microfluidics Devices

Advancements in microfluidics (the study of how fluids and gases behave at the micro and nano-scale) have made it possible to produce devices with many biological applications. The production of nanoparticles of 10-100 nm in size using microfluidics is highly reproducible and easily affordable. Essentially, these devices contain channels (approximately 50 micrometers in depth and 60 micrometers wide) in a pattern that promotes the formation of solvent-buffer interfaces resulting in the formation of lipid nanoparticles. Stable lipids such as phosphatidylcholine (PC) dissolved in ethanol and fed through a microfluidic chip, in the presence of a simple buffer solution is just one method to produce lipid based nanoparticles. Pressure and particle physics within the device cause the lipids to selfassemble into a spherical shape. During this process, lipophilic and hydrophilic compounds can be incorporated into the liposome. Here we have used microfluidic technology to make nanoparticles and are now working on incorporating a lipophilic compound. Parthenolide has been shown to act as an anti-inflammatory, but nanoparticles have not been used as a mode of delivery. The next step is to test our nanoparticles in vitro as a method of delivery of anti-inflammatory therapies