Citation

  • Authors: Chiu, Y. L., Chan, H. F., Phua, K. K., Zhang, Y., Juul, S., Knudsen, B. R., Ho, Y. P., Leong, K. W.
  • Year: 2014
  • Journal: ACS Nano
  • Applications: in vitro / DNA / jetPEI
  • Cell type: HEK-293
    Description: Human embryonic kidney Fibroblast
    Known as: HEK293, 293

Abstract

Microemulsion represents an attractive platform for fundamental and applied biomedical research because the emulsified droplets can serve as millions of compartmentalized micrometer-sized reactors amenable to high-throughput screening or online monitoring. However, establishing stable emulsions with surfactants that are compatible with biological applications remains a significant challenge. Motivated by the lack of commercially available surfactants suitable for microemulsion-based biological assays, this study describes the facile synthesis of a biocompatible fluorosurfactant with nonionic tris(hydroxymethyl)methyl (Tris) polar head groups. We have further demonstrated compatibility of the developed surfactant with diverse emulsion-based applications, including DNA polymeric nanoparticle synthesis, enzymatic activity assay, and bacterial or mammalian cell culture, in the setup of both double- and multiphases of emulsions.