Development of a triple-coaxial flow device for fabricating a hydrogel microtube and its application to bioremediation

Abstract

This paper demonstrates a triple-coaxial flow device to continuously produce a hydrogel microtube using a microfluidic technique. The hydrogel microtube can encapsulate a microbial suspension, while allowing the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients into the microtube and preventing microbes from passing into or out of the microtube. The microtubes also enable the collection of the microbes after task completion without contaminating the environment. In our previous study, we used a double-coaxial flow device to produce the microtubes, but continuous production was a challenge. In the present study, we developed a microfluidic device that fabricates a triple-coaxial flow to enable continuous production of the microtubes. Here, we characterize the production capacity of the microtubes along with their properties and demonstrate bioremediation using microtubes encapsulating a microbial suspension.