Rapid and Highly Controlled Generation of Multiple Emulsions via a Hybrid Microfluidic Device

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorMohamad, Abdulmajeed
dc.contributor.advisorSanati Nezhad, Amir
dc.contributor.authorAzarmanesh, Milad
dc.contributor.committeememberHejazi, Hossein
dc.contributor.committeememberKim, Keekyoung
dc.date2022-02
dc.date.accessioned2022-01-21T16:46:23Z
dc.date.available2022-01-21T16:46:23Z
dc.date.issued2022-01
dc.description.abstractMultiple Emulsions (MEs) consist of droplets containing one or more microdroplets. Microfluidic approaches have been used to create monodisperse MEs in both a rapid and controlled manner. To generate monodisperse ME constructs, the design relies on the interaction between immiscible fluids in subsequent droplet formation steps. The microfluidic chip used to create the MEs consists of three liquid phases flowing through two subsequent compartments, each with a T-junction and a cross-junction. Creating high shear stress at the cross-junctions induces instability of liquid flow at the first junction, which splits the first immiscible phase into micrometer droplets surrounded by the second phase. The resulting structure is then supported by the third phase at the T-junction to generate and transport MEs. In this work, the ME formation within microfluidic chips is experimentally investigated and numerically simulated. Several critical parameters are examined concerning their effects on the physical properties of MEs. Dimensionless modelling is exploited to enable the change of one parameter at a time while assessing the system's sensitivity to that parameter. Following the optimization of ME formation, highly controlled and high-throughput MEs are formed within the microfluidic chips. It is shown that the consecutive MEs are monodisperse in size, allowing for the generation of controlled MEs for various applications, including bacterial and cell culture. Furthermore, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microchannels are fabricated using conventional soft lithography techniques and coated with Tetraethyl Orthosilicate (TEOS) and Ethylamine (EA) to form a nanometer silicon oxide layer inside the microchannels. TEOS coated PDMS chips provide several advantages over bare PDMS chips. The first benefit of the TEOS coating is the prevention of fluid absorption by the PDMS bulk, which is a major challenge for long-term culture of cells in PDMS microchannels. Using the TEOS coating, bacteria successfully grow for several hours inside nanoliter-sized droplets in a controlled microenvironment, wherein the TEOS coating prevents droplets from being absorbed by the PDMS. Further engineering of this coating makes it a switchable coating, where its hydrophilic properties change to hydrophobic upon exposure to the ambient air. This feature provides selective hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity conditions and allows for the formation of diverse double and multiple emulsions. The hydrophilic property of the coating is further used for cell culture. As a proof-of-concept, MCF7 breast cancer cells and endothelium cells are cultured on the TEOS-coated PDMS chips, enabling further high-throughput drug screening on MEs containing multiple cell types and drugs.en_US
dc.identifier.citationAzarmanesh, M. (2022). Rapid and highly controlled generation of Multiple Emulsions via a hybrid microfluidic device (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39532
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/114317
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisher.facultySchulich School of Engineeringen_US
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.en_US
dc.subjectComputational Fluid Dynamicsen_US
dc.subjectMultiphase flowen_US
dc.subjectDroplet microfluidicsen_US
dc.subjectBacteria culture in dropleten_US
dc.subjectSurface modification of PDMSen_US
dc.subjectCell culture in microfluidicsen_US
dc.subjectMultiple emulsionen_US
dc.subjectDouble emulsionen_US
dc.subjectPassive microinjectionen_US
dc.subjectElectrohydrodynamics for droplet formationen_US
dc.subject.classificationApplied Mechanicsen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Biomedicalen_US
dc.subject.classificationEngineering--Mechanicalen_US
dc.titleRapid and Highly Controlled Generation of Multiple Emulsions via a Hybrid Microfluidic Deviceen_US
dc.typedoctoral thesisen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineEngineering – Mechanical & Manufacturingen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgaryen_US
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrueen_US
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Thumbnail Image
Name:
ucalgary_2022_azarmanesh_milad.pdf
Size:
6.27 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Main article
Download
Thumbnail Image
Name:
ucalgary_2022_azarmanesh_milad_videos.rar
Size:
112.13 MB
Format:
Zip files based on Chrome
Description:
Supplementary videos
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
2.62 KB
Format:
Item-specific license agreed upon to submission
Description:
Download
Collections
Open Theses and Dissertations