Large scale manufacture of magnetic polymer particles using membranes and microfluidic devices

Abstract

Magnetic polymer particles have found applications in diverse areas such as biomedical treatments, diagnosis and separation technology. These applications require the particles to have controlled sizes and narrow size distributions to gain better control and reproducibility in use. This paper reviews recent developments in the preparation of magnetic polymer particles at nano- and micro-scales by encapsulating magnetic components with dissolved or in situ formed polymers. Particle manufacture using emulsification and embedment methods produces magnetic polymer particles at micro-scale dimensions. However, the production of particles in this range using conventional emulsification methods affords very limited control over particle sizes and polydispersity. We report on alternative routes using membrane and microfluidics emulsification techniques, which have a capability to produce monodisperse emulsions and polymer microspheres (with coefficients of variation of less than 10%) in the range from submicrometer to a few 100 μm. The performance of these manufacturing methods is assessed with a view to future applications.