3D-printed microfluidic droplet generation systems for drug delivery applications

Drug delivery systems are advanced methods that aim to deliver a targeted drug to a specific location or release it at a controlled rate. Many methods have been proposed for drug delivery systems, among which microfluidic systems present unique advantages. In contrast to bulk methods, in this work, by considering the unique capacity of microfluidic-based drug delivery systems, including controllability of fabricated chip geometry and flow rate of multiphase fluid, highly stable particles with higher encapsulation efficiency can be generated. Employing additive manufacturing in biomedical applications has enabled researchers to propose novel and accurate microfluidic systems. In this paper, by employing stereolithography (SLA) and fused deposition modeling (FDM) 3D printing, a microfluidic-based drug delivery system for generating polycaprolactone (PCL) droplets loaded with dexamethasone drug is fabricated. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images and microscopic images show the effectiveness of this method in generating such droplets.