Group Leaders:
Dr Goran Vladisavljević & Dr Guido Bolognesi
Welcome to the home page of the Particle Microfluidics Group. We are based at the Department of Chemical Engineering of Loughborough University and at the Department of Chemistry of University College London.
Our research focuses on the production and manipulation of functional particles in micron-scale flows for the investigation of their fundamental properties and behaviour as well as for the development of new applications in the healthcare, food and energy sectors.
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS
Microfluidics offers the ability to precisely tune the chemical composition, size, shape, surface morphology, and internal structure of microgels by bringing multiple fluid streams in contact in a highly controlled fashion using versatile channel geometries and flow configurations, and allowing for controlled crosslinking. We published a systematic review of the crosslinking strategies used to produce microgel particles in microfluidic chips.
Reference
M. Chen, G. Bolognesi and G.T. Vladisavljević, Molecules, 26, p.3752 (2021)
Double emulsions with many monodispersed internal droplets are required for the fabrication of multicompartment microcapsules and tissue-like synthetic material. In this research, Modular interconnected CNC-milled Lego®-inspired blocks were used to create two separated droplet break-up points within coaxial glass capillaries.
Reference
N. Leister, G.T. Vladisavljević, and H.P. Karbstein, Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 611, 451 (2022)
We discovered a new physical mechanism whereby steady state salt gradients are exploited to trap, accumulate and release colloidal particles within the dead-end cavities of microstructured silicon surfaces. These findings will open new avenues of research on soft matter as well as chemical and biological systems, where solute concentration gradients and flows in confined geometries are ubiquitous.
Reference
Novel cost effective, versatile, reconfigurable, reusable and easy to assemble glass capillary microfluidic devices were developed and used to generate micro/nano-materials with controlled size and morphology.
Reference