Microfluidic synthesis of thermo-responsive poly (N-isopropylacrylamide)–poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylatemicrohydrogels as chemo-embolic microspheres

Abstract

In this paper, we have successfully synthesized and characterized poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAm)-poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) microhydrogels. Various combinations of PNIPAAm-PEGDA microhydrogels were fabricated by the generation of monodisperse microdroplets whose sizes were comparable to a blood vessel of 260 and 320 mu m with the help of a hydrodynamic focusing microfluidic device (HFMD), followed by synthesis of the microhydrogels through UV irradiation to the microdroplets. The thermo-responsive behaviors of the various microhydrogels were investigated by changing the PEGDA crosslinker concentration, which was found to be a dominant factor in tuning the shrinkage ratio in response to temperature change. As an in vitro embolization performance evaluation of the microhydrogels as chemo-embolic microspheres, the deliverability of the microhydrogels through a microcatheter was first confirmed and the compact occlusion of a channel was demonstrated based on a tapered microchannel in response to the temperature increase to physiological temperature of 36 degrees C. The controlled release behavior of the fluorescent dye from the microhydrogel was also investigated for chemotherapeutic purposes as a proof of concept study. The PNIPAAm-PEGDA microhydrogels could be used widely in embolization procedures based on the advantages of tunable thermo-responsive and controlled release behaviors.