Processing of fast-gelling hydrogel precursors in microfluidics by electrocoalescence of reactive species
Nicolas Hauck, Talika A. Neuendorf, Max J. Männel, Lucas Vogel, Ping Liu, Enno Stündel, Yixin Zhang, Julian Thiele
Abstract
thiol-Michael addition reaction or non-covalent self-assembly. Furthermore, we elucidate the limitations of electrocoalescence of reactive hydrogel precursors by processing sodium alginate, crosslinked by calcium-induced ionic interactions. For this instantaneous type of hydrogelation, electrocoalescence of alginate and calcium ions does not result in the formation of morphologically isotropic microgels. Instead, it enables the creation of anisotropic microgel morphologies with tunable shape, which have previously only been achieved by selective crosslinking of elaborate higher-order emulsions or by aqueous two-phase systems as microgel templates.