Generation of uniform microparticles by microfluidic emulsification and solvent evaporation

Uniform microdroplets and designed microparticles generated by a microfluidic device with solvent evaporation are proved to have a significant impact on our everyday life such as recently in cosmetics, medicine, production of clean energy, reduction in energy consumption, the ultra-small magnets and sensors, and so on. Moreover, the properties of materials generated by monodispersed microdroplets from microfluidic devices are incredibly dependent on the synthesis method, especially on the processing route. However, all conventional microfluidic devices such like T-junction single nozzle device and the glass capillary devices can only work in a researching scale. Then, a question raised, which is, how to increase productivity on the micro level by microfluidic devices to satisfy manufacture but without sacrificing their inherent advantages especially the low cost and the monodispersity. To solve this problem, a lot of compact design based on different microfluidic mechanism have been launched. Microchannel Emulsification and SPG (Shirasu Porous Glass) membrane are two of them and provide competitive characteristics on this purpose.