A Lab-On-a-Chip system for cell microencapsulation in a polymeric material

In order to give a concrete response to the need of novel drug delivery systems for cancer treatment, a microfluidic device designed for cell encapsulation has been developed in this thesis work. Water in oil (w/o) and oil in water (o/w) emulsion processes are carried out in the microsystems produced during the thesis project, which is the starting point for encapsulating cells. Specific microfabrication techniques are employed in the development of the microchip, made using a novel polymeric platform, called Off-Stoichiometry Thiol-Ene/Epoxy (OSTE (+)).\nThe experimental results show how a high value of the flow rate ratio between the continuous phase and the dispersed phase, for both w/o and o/w emulsions, allows for high production frequency of droplets with size comparable to the channel s width. The tests conducted highlight that the innovative polymeric material employed and the microfluidic device fabricated both are suited for the development of a new drug delivery system