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English
Conflict of Interest
In relation to this article, we declare that there is no conflict of interest.
Publication history
Received March 5, 2025
Revised April 10, 2025
Accepted June 11, 2025
Available online September 25, 2025
articles This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Most Cited

Discontinuous Dewetting‑Based Synthesis of Monodisperse Polydimethylsiloxane Microparticles with Tunable Aqueous Dispersibility via Surface Engineering

Department of Chemical Engineering, Hongik University,
jaejungk@hongik.ac.kr
Korean Journal of Chemical Engineering, September 2025, 42(11), 2777-2786(10)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11814-025-00502-4

Abstract

Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microparticles exhibit significant potential for biomedical applications owing to their biocompatibility,

chemical inertness, transparency, and ease of soft lithography-based fabrication. However, their high viscosity

and hydrophobicity make it difficult to use them in the form of particles in aqueous environments. In this study, we present

a novel and efficient methodology for fabricating uniform PDMS microparticles using a discontinuous dewetting (DD)

technique. Our approach employs a polyethylene glycol diacrylate mold coated with a superhydrophobic layer, enabling DD

over a broad viscosity range and achieving highly monodisperse particle production. To utilize them in an aqueous solution,

we implemented two surface modification strategies: a bovine serum albumin (BSA) treatment, and the formation of

“hydrogel skin”. Such strategies enhance their water wettability and the particle’s dispersion in an aqueous solution. Our

findings demonstrate the successful fabrication of monodisperse PDMS microparticles with diameters ranging from 200 to

1000 μm, which were well dispersed in organic or aqueous solutions. Our research would suggest a new strategy for how to

use PDMS in bioengineering. We anticipate that our PDMS microparticles offer significant potential in diagnostic, chemotaxis,

and therapeutic applications.

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