Microfluidic system solutions for the synthesis of small (from 20 to 500 nm) liposome vesicles.Interest in synthetic methods of lipid and liposome production using microfluidic techniques is increasing. This is due to the vesicular structure of liposomes, which enable encapsulation of both hydrophilic and hydrophobic pharmaceutical drugs and nutrients. This makes nano-lipids and liposomes incredibly useful in treating cancer and delivering antibacterial, immunomodulation and vaccine drugs into the body. In addition, liposome nanoparticles are increasingly finding use in the diagnostics arena.
Control of nano-lipid and liposome size is crucial, as only vesicles of a precise size range can target a specific organ or disease. We consider microfluidics to be the ideal tool for the synthesis of lipid and liposome nanoparticles, which guarantees precise reproducibility, higher monodispersity, greater scalability and increased efficiency compared to traditional batch methods.
Microfluidics, also known as a ‘lab-on-a-chip’, enables the precise control, manipulation and analysis of fluids in the microlitre to picolitre range. Furthermore, it allows the manipulation of living matter by mixing, separating and handling different components at a microscale.
Dolomite is pioneering the use of microfluidic devices for small-scale fluid control and analysis, enabling engineers and scientists to take full advantage of the following benefits:
Microfluidic encapsulation methods have demonstrated potential for achieving higher control over the physical properties of the final nano-lipid or liposome product than conventional batch methods. Typical microfluidics characteristics, such as low Reynolds number and diffusion dominated mass transfer, make it the most viable method for producing lipid-based nanoscale vesicular systems with the potential for clinical application.
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Particle size |
Particles ranging from 20 nm to 500 nm. |
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Particle monodispersity |
Extremely monodisperse, CV up to 1 %. |
| Particle generation frequency | Up to 10 MHz for a standard system and 1 GHz for a production system (depending on reagents and liposome sizes). |
| Flow rate range |
From 5 nL/min to >100 mL/min (depending on pressure, viscosity and flow resistance) |
| Flow pressure |
Flexible with vacuum and pressure capability in the same pump (pump pressure range: 0-10 bar). Pumps contain integrated reservoir to eliminate the risk of vial fracture in operation. |
| Chemical resistance |
Very high (wetted materials: glass, PEEK, ETFE, FEP, PTFE). |
Telos® High-Throughput Production Systems provide a controlled solution for scaling-up droplet, particles or emulsion manufacturing. Each Dolomite Microfluidic System has a flexible configuration which allows up to 10 Telos® Clamp Modules to be assembled in parallel, enabling identical conditions for scale-up of production rate for up to 500,000 monodisperse particles per second.
Methodology for generation of monodisperse liposome nanoparticles in sizes ranging from 30 nm to 90 nm using precipitation method.