Michigan Chemical Engineering Faculty Propel Innovation in Microgel Production through Unique 3-Day Challenge
A hackathon style collaboration leads to compelling innovation in microgels
In an ambitious chemical engineering scientific challenge, University of Michigan researchers and their counterparts at McGill University have unveiled an innovation in microgel production they call the “Turbinator.” This technology, born from a unique 3-day research challenge, integrates 3D-printed turbines into Shirasu Porous Glass (SPG) systems to enhance scalable microdroplet production.
Their work (published in ACS Applied BioMaterials) describes this fast-paced collaborative endeavor, initiated by an impromptu phone conversation and synergistic expertise between the University of Michigan and McGill University. The team aimed to tackle the challenges of transitioning from batch-based to continuous microgel production, resulting in a tool that significantly reduces the polydispersity of microdroplets which can then be polymerized into microgels, increasing scalability and consistency for scientific and industrial applications.
To support this fast-paced, hackathon-style project, Professors Lesher-Pérez and Moraes employed a spin-off from their respective ‘paper canvas’ approaches, which clarified project outcomes, team member roles, and offered a platform to support collaborative efforts on quickly resolving issues to ensure consistent project progress. The collaborative effort brought together 11 researchers, spanning faculty, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels in accomplishing the work together across the 72 hours of work, in which they went from concept to a submitted manuscript within this 3-day window.
Sasha Cai Lesher Pérez, Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan, co-led the project. He comments, “The Turbinator’s development through our 3-day research challenge assessed some of the current limitations in SPG droplet-production technologies and effectively engineered solutions for enhancing microdroplet emulsions. Specifically, the Turbinator’s ability to increase droplet production uniformity provides a pathway for scaling the production of biocompatible microgels where uniformity is critical for effective tissue engineering and cell culture research. Through close collaboration with our partners at McGill, we were able to achieve a functional system that improved microgel production over traditional SPG emulsion production methods, providing scalable manufacturing benefits for applications that leverage microgels such as in wound healing and regenerative medicine.”
Durante Pioche-Lee, a graduate researcher in Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan, explained the significance of the breakthrough: “Achieving consistent size uniformity in micro-droplet generation has always been a challenge, especially when translating these methods to larger production scales. However, by incorporating the Turbinator into the commercially available SPG systems, we managed to increase microdroplet monodispersity through precise control of local flow dynamics. This advancement in the understanding of extrusion-based systems offers valuable insights into the commercialization of scalable droplet production methods.”
Engineering with sustainability in mind, the team replaced environmentally persistent fluoropolymers (also known as PFAs), a commonly used oil for microgel generation, with kerosene. Kerosene can be and is currently being produced increasingly through renewable resources, being derived from tallow, used cooking oil, or lignocellulosic waste byproducts, underscoring a commitment to environmental goals in line with the project’s innovative spirit.
The team successfully demonstrated the application of their innovative microgels in cell culture applications, showcasing functional equivalence to traditional microgel production methods. The development of the “Turbinator” not only contributes to the field of microgel production but also provides a compelling model for accelerated research through collaborative efforts, illustrating the potential for innovation when academic expertise is strategically mobilized toward common goals.