High-Throughput Synthesis of Liposome Using an Injection-Molded Plastic Micro-Fluidic Device

For mass production of liposomes, we designed a plastic micro-channel device on the basis of 5 μm of micro-nozzle array forming T-junction with 100 μm depth of micro-channel. A micro-channel unit for synthesizing liposomes consisted of two micro-nozzle arrays for mixing two solutions as well as delivery and recovery channels for supplying solutions and collecting liposome suspension. The number of micro-nozzles was approximately 2400 for a micro-channel unit, and seven units were applied independently on a micro-channel plate. The plastic micro-channel plate was injection-molded for mass production using a micro-channel stamper previously fabricated by UV lithography and nickel electroforming process. A plastic cover plate with seven pairs of inlet and outlet ports was machined by mechanical milling and drilling and was assembled with a micro-channel plate using a holder to form a liposome synthesizing device. Flow and mixing of solutions in the micro-channels were tested using colored water to check the micro-fluidic characteristics of the device. Finally, a L-α-phosphatidylcholine (SOY PC) liposome was synthesized using EtOH solution of SOY PC (95%) and saline (0.85% NaOH solution) to find that the liposomes were around 230 and 260 nm in diameter, depending on the flow rate of the lipid solution.

Modification of a Cylindrical Mirror Analyzer for High Efficiency Photoelectron Spectroscopy on Ion Beams

An existing cylindrical mirror analyzer (CMA) that was initially equipped with eight channeltrons detectors has been modified to install large micro-channel plate detectors to perform parallel detection of electrons on an energy range corresponding to ~12% of the mean pass energy. This analyzer is dedicated to photoelectron spectroscopy of ions ionized by synchrotron radiation. The overall detection efficiency is increased by a factor of ~20 compared to the original analyzer. A proof of principle of the efficiency of the analyzer has been done for Xe5+ and Si+ ions and will allow photoelectron spectroscopy on many other ionic species.