Controlled encapsulation and droplet size prediction in two-step microfluidic double emulsions
Abstract
Double emulsions of water-in-oil-in-water (w1/o/w2) are critical for encapsulation and controlled release in microfluidic applications. In this work, double emulsion droplets were produced via a two-step flow-focusing process in a microchannel. A low-viscosity silicone oil (4.6 mPa s) was used as the oil phase, while the aqueous phase consisted of 48 wt% water and 52 wt% glycerol. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added at concentrations 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2 times its critical micelle concentration (CMC = 11 mM) to systematically vary the interfacial tension. Three distinct formation regimes, namely drop-in-drop, drop-in-plug, and drop-in-thread, were identified under varying flow rate ratios and interfacial tensions. A semi-empirical model was developed to predict double droplet size in the drop-in-drop regime, which has significant practical relevance. For conditions with C/CMC ≥ 1, where interfacial tension is assumed to have reached equilibrium, good agreement with the experimental data was obtained, with mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) of 8.16% for the core droplets and 9.54% for the double droplets. For lower surfactant concentrations, incorporating dynamic interfacial tension gave a MAPE of 8.17% for double droplet size prediction. These results provide a quantitative framework for droplet size prediction and offer operating guidance for the controlled generation of encapsulated droplets in microfluidic systems.
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BibTeX
@article{tang2026controlled,
title = {{Controlled encapsulation and droplet size prediction in two-step microfluidic double emulsions}},
author = {Chen Tang and Loïc Chagot and Panagiota Angeli},
journal = {Lab on a Chip},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1039/d6lc00406g},
url = {https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05784217v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Controlled encapsulation and droplet size prediction in two-step microfluidic double emulsions
AU - Chen Tang
AU - Loïc Chagot
AU - Panagiota Angeli
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Lab on a Chip
DO - 10.1039/d6lc00406g
UR - https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-05784217v1
AB - Double emulsions of water-in-oil-in-water (w1/o/w2) are critical for encapsulation and controlled release in microfluidic applications. In this work, double emulsion droplets were produced via a two-step flow-focusing process in a microchannel. A low-viscosity silicone oil (4.6 mPa s) was used as the oil phase, while the aqueous phase consisted of 48 wt% water and 52 wt% glycerol. Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was added at concentrations 0.2, 0.5, 1, and 2 times its critical micelle concentration (CMC = 11 mM) to systematically vary the interfacial tension. Three distinct formation regimes, namely drop-in-drop, drop-in-plug, and drop-in-thread, were identified under varying flow rate ratios and interfacial tensions. A semi-empirical model was developed to predict double droplet size in the drop-in-drop regime, which has significant practical relevance. For conditions with C/CMC ≥ 1, where interfacial tension is assumed to have reached equilibrium, good agreement with the experimental data was obtained, with mean absolute percentage errors (MAPE) of 8.16% for the core droplets and 9.54% for the double droplets. For lower surfactant concentrations, incorporating dynamic interfacial tension gave a MAPE of 8.17% for double droplet size prediction. These results provide a quantitative framework for droplet size prediction and offer operating guidance for the controlled generation of encapsulated droplets in microfluidic systems.
SN - 1473-0197
SN - 1473-0189
ER -