Development of erythrocyte-mimetic PFOB/PDMS thermoplastic elastomer core-shell microparticles via SPG membrane emulsification

Erythrocyte-mimetic perfluorooctylbromide (PFOB)/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) thermoplastic elastomer core-shell microparticles were fabricated (for the first time) via Shirasu porous glass membrane emulsification (SPG ME) with evaporation-induced phase separation (EIPS). The resulting micro-sized core-shell particles showed a spontaneously concave shape without a subsequent deformation process such as organic solvent immersion or temperature variations. It replicated the healthy human erythrocyte morphology. In addition, their sizes and morphologies could be controlled by varying the pore size and dispersed-phase composition of the SPG membrane. The diameters of the precisely controlled particles were similar to those of human blood cells (9.6 ± 1.9 μm). The microcompression test revealed a high deformability of the particles owing to both softness of the PDMS-TPE shell and their core-shell structure. The PDMS-based materials displayed a high oxygen permeability, and PFOB displayed a high oxygen solubility. Finally, the oxygen transportation function was evaluated using oxygen tension-responsive HeLa cells (hr-HeLa) under hypoxic conditions (5% O2). This demonstrated the effectiveness of PFOB/PDMS-TPE microparticles as artificial oxygen carriers in various biomedical applications such as tissue engineering.