Calculator - Solvent Extraction

When producing particles using microfluidics there are two fundamental approaches –in-droplet polymerization, where monomers are used to produce droplets that are then polymerized using heat or light to produce solid particles. Alternatively, an existing polymer can be dissolved in a solvent and this solution used to produce droplets. The solvent is then extracted into the carrier phase and evaporated to complete removal. This second approach leads to shrinkage in conversion from liquid droplet to solid particle due to the loss of the solvent volume. The calculator on this page predicts the final size of a particle based on the concentration of polymer in, and size of, the starting droplet.