Fluid droplet processing innovation revealed by SMART company
In a groundbreaking development, researchers from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) have created a unique microfluidic process that promises to revolutionise the field of medicine. Led by researcher Arif Zainuddin Nelson, this new approach could lead to more tailored medicine, making it easier to develop small batches of specialized drugs for specific patients.
The new microfluidic process is explained in a paper titled "Embedded droplet printing in yield-stress fluids," published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. SMART, an intellectual and innovation hub for research interactions between MIT and Singapore, played a pivotal role in the development of this method. Established by MIT and the National Research Foundation of Singapore in 2007, SMART serves as a platform for collaborative research between the two institutions.
The new process is designed to avoid malformations that are common in conventional methods, which produce particles that are ovoid in shape and result in poor flowability during the manufacturing of medicines. By contrast, the new method can handle a high throughput of small and precise volumes of reagents, enabling an improved environment for chemical reactions by removing solid boundaries.
One of the key advantages of the new process is its ability to simulate infections for antibiotic testing. Bacteria colonies can be cultured within individual droplets, and different antibiotics and dosages can be tested on each droplet. This capability could be particularly useful for designing high potency medicine that needs to be taken in very small doses, such as drugs taken by cancer patients.
Moreover, the new method is the first of its kind to take advantage of yield-stress fluids to create ideal conditions for experimentation, processing, or observation of various samples. Using the embedded droplet printing approach, the research team was able to produce suspended and perfectly spherical drug-laden particles. The method can also be used for nanoparticle production and to alter the size and dosage of existing drugs.
According to MIT Professor Patrick Doyle, the new microfluidic process could be a game changer in a range of scientific experimentation. The generality and wide impact of the new microfluidic process couldn't have been achieved without SMART and NUS working together. The project is part of the National Research Foundation's Intra-CREATE Collaborative Grant.
The research group led by Prof. Anna C. Balazs at the University of Pittsburgh developed the new method for generating and processing liquid droplets under extraordinary conditions, as published in "Embedded droplet printing in yield-stress fluids" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This collaboration between institutions underscores the potential for interdisciplinary research to drive innovation and advancements in science and medicine.
