MIT prints microfluidic devices for layered drug-delivery particles

What happened

MIT researchers reported a printed array of triaxial electrospray emitters in June. The devices route three liquids through intricate internal channels to create droplets with distinct layers.

The team used vat photopolymerization to produce sixteen nozzles within roughly one square centimeter. In testing, the arrays generated uniform layered droplets, demonstrating a route to structures that are difficult to manufacture with conventional microfabrication.

Potential applications include controlled-release drug particles, biosensors and self-healing materials. The work demonstrates a manufacturing device; it is not an announcement of an approved medicine or a clinical treatment. Further development must connect particle production with the requirements of each proposed application.