Research & Development World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE

Going with the flow: New 3D microfluidic system developed

By R&D Editors | March 8, 2011

Microfluidic MIT

In this artist’s rendering of the new system, polymers flow through a microfluidic channel as they are formed into spherical nanoparticles. An organic solvent called acetonitrile helps keep the particles away from the walls and prevent clumping. Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller/Sayo-Art.

Researchers at MIT and Brigham and
Women’s Hospital have developed a new way to produce nanoparticles that can
deliver drugs for cancer and other diseases. The new production system offers
greater control over the size and composition of the particles, allowing large
quantities of homogenous particles to be rapidly produced.

The particles are formed from a
biodegradable polymer that can carry a large number of drug molecules and
release them in a controlled fashion while evading the body’s immune system.

In the new production system, a stream
of the polymer flows through a microfluidic channel that focuses it
three-dimensionally, isolating it from the channel walls and allowing spherical
nanoparticles to form when the polymer contacts water side streams. In
traditional two-dimensional systems, polymers often clump along the top and
bottom walls, clogging the device. The new system uses streams of an organic
solvent called acetonitrile to keep the polymers away from the top and bottom
walls and prevent such clumping.

The researchers reported their new
system in the online edition of Advanced
Materials
. Authors are Minsoung Rhee, postdoctoral associate at MIT and
Brigham and Women’s; MIT graduate student Pedro Valencia; MIT senior Maria
Rodriguez; Institute Professor Robert Langer; Omid Farokhzad, director of the
Laboratory of Nanomedicine and Biomaterials at Brigham and Women’s Hospital;
and MIT assistant professor of mechanical engineering Rohit Karnik.

SOURCE

Related Articles Read More >

Floating solar mats clean polluted water — and generate power
Nanodots enable fine-tuned light emission for sharper displays and faster quantum devices
New photon-avalanching nanoparticles could enable next-generation optical computers
New “nose-computer interface” aims to upgrade Rover’s nose for better drug detection methods
rd newsletter
EXPAND YOUR KNOWLEDGE AND STAY CONNECTED
Get the latest info on technologies, trends, and strategies in Research & Development.
RD 25 Power Index

R&D World Digital Issues

Fall 2024 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R&D magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2025 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • R&D World Home
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Careers
    • Chemistry
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Software
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
    • Semiconductors
  • R&D Market Pulse
  • R&D 100
    • Call for Nominations: The 2025 R&D 100 Awards
    • R&D 100 Awards Event
    • R&D 100 Submissions
    • Winner Archive
    • Explore the 2024 R&D 100 award winners and finalists
  • Resources
    • Research Reports
    • Digital Issues
    • R&D Index
    • Subscribe
    • Video
    • Webinars
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Top Labs
  • Advertise
  • SUBSCRIBE