Cavitation-Assisted Micromixing for Polymeric Nanoparticle Generation

The high-throughput generation of polymeric nanoparticles (PNPs) with tailored size and narrow size distribution is key for applications as relevant as sensing and nanomedicine. Here we show how cavitation bubbles in a microfluidic channel can induce rapid nanoprecipitation of PNPs with user-selectable control. Specifically, we used two tip-electrodes perpendicular to the flow to induce electrical breakdown of a polymer solution and a miscible non-solvent. As a result, a plasma is formed causing cavitation and rapid mixing of the fluids, yielding nanoprecipitates of polymer. We demonstrated mL/min generation of PNPs with a diameter as low as 150 nm and polydispersity below 0.15.