Preparation of highly monodispersed porous-channeled poly(caprolactone) microspheres by a microfluidic system

• Microporous PCL microspheres are generated by microfluidic chip.
• Microspheres have high monodispersity with sizes of hundreds of micrometers.
• Microporous-channels are generated by camphene.

Microspheres with a porous structure are promising cell carriers for tissue engineering. Here we explored monodisperse porous poly(caprolactone) (PCL) microspheres produced by a microfluidic system. The microfluidic device could generate homogeneous structured microspheres with excellent monodispersity. The microsphere size was tunable from 210 to 330 µm by adjusting the sheath flow rate from 170 to 330 µm. Camphene, used as a pore-generating material, was effective in creating open-channels, and the channel structure was significantly influenced by the solidification temperature and content of camphene. The size-tunable, monodisperse, and channeled-microspheres developed by using camphene and microfluidic device may be a potential platform in many areas, including biomolecule separation, drug delivery, and cell culture.