Droplet-based Microfluidic Technology Applications in Polymer Science

Microfluidics is a multidisciplinary science integrating engineering, physics, chemistry, and biotechnology. An emerging application area for microfluidic chips is droplet generation and manipulation (e.g., droplet motion, merging, splitting, sorting, trapping, and breakup). Based on controlled diffusion, rapid mixing, and high throughput, droplet-based microfluidic technology is a novel research topic in numerous fields, including chemical synthesis, extraction, drug screening or encapsulation, and polymerase chain reaction. We summarize currently developed droplet-based microfluidic technologies used for preparing polymers, such as chitosan, alginate, poly(lactic-co-glycolic) acid, and liposomes.