Triple-coaxial flow for continuous production of microtubes containing microbes for bioremediation

Abstract

This paper describes a microfluidic device to continuously produce a hydrogel microtube using triple-coaxial flow. In our prior work, double-coaxial flow was used to produce hydrogel microtubes, though continuous and mass production was a challenge. In this work, we also demonstrate bioremediation using the microtubes that encapsulate microbial suspension. The microenvironment created by the microtubes enabled efficient purification of aqueous sample solution and in addition, the microbes are maintained inside the microtube and are easily collected without contaminating the solution. The proposed technology can be applied to any types of microbes and can be of great benefit for various microbial processes.