Molecular Transport in Emulsions

Molecular Transport in Emulsions

From Permeation to Controlled Delivery using Microfluidics

Gruner, Philipp

Doctoral thesis

Date of Examination: 2014-10-06

Date of issue: 2015-10-01

Advisor: Baret, Jean-Christophe Prof. Dr.

Referee: Baret, Jean-Christophe Prof. Dr.

Referee: Enderlein, Jörg Prof. Dr.

Persistent Address: http://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-1735-0000-0023-9635-B

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Abstract

English

It is demonstrated how microfluidic tools are applied to access fundamental information on mass transfer between emulsion droplets, which are inaccessible with classical methods of bulk emulsification. Our studies were focused on aqueous droplets dispersed in fluorinated oils, the major platform for biotechnological applications of emulsions. Hence, our results directly impact the development of efficient strategies to reduce cross-talk between droplet microreactors, which is of great importance for the establishment of droplet-based screening applications. Based on the gained insights into the mechanistic details of mass transport in emulsion, concepts for a dynamic control of droplet composition were introduced. We consider that such strategies will allow to realize droplet-based investigations as well as applications that have not been feasible so far in screening, diagnostics, single cell manipulation and as tools for synthetic biology.

Keywords: Emulsion; Molecular Transport; Permeation; Microfluidics; Droplets; Exchange; Controlled Delivery; Mass Transport