Micrometer-sized functional materials by microfluidics.

We apply microfluidic technology to develop a variety of functional materials at the micrometer-scale, which are useful for targeted delivery of drugs and active materials, optical display, sensing, enhanced oil recovery, and environmental bioremediation. For example, we developed uniform-sized giant unilamellar vesicles (GUVs) encapsulating a combination of drugs and nutrients for treating mitochondrial dysfunction, which correlates with chronic fatigue syndrome (Figure 4a); we fabricated photo-responsive liquid crystal micro-shells and drops for lasing, display and sensing (Figure 4b); we created hydrogel microparticles with various 3D shapes, from hexagonal disks and prisms to Kelvin and Weaire-Phelan structures (Figure 4c); we developed temperature-switchable nanoparticle colloidosomes for targeted drug delivery (Figure 4d); we developed smart, deformable microcapsules that can release surfactant in the reservoir condition for enhanced oil recovery (Figure 4e).