Microparticles by microfluidic lithography

Microparticles have been drawing extensive interests over recent years due to their unique shapes, complex structures, and the capability of incorporating various functions within a single entity. They have been demonstrated to have promising prospects in diverse fields such as biological analysis and diagnosis, tissue engineering, anticounterfeiting, mechanical engineering, and structural materials. Compared with the traditional preparation methods, microfluidic lithography has opened up a new way for the preparation of high precision, good monodispersity, and high throughput microparticles. There is a great need for a most comprehensive review that systematically summarizes the research findings emerging in recent years and also provides guidance for future development in this area. Here, the recent progress of microfluidic lithography methods and the obtained microparticle morphologies are discussed based on a comprehensive summarization of the basic elements used in microfluidic lithography (i.e., microfluidic devices, precursors, masks, and UV light). The postprocessing techniques including self-assembly and sintering are presented to potentially bridge microparticles with practical applications. Furthermore, the application prospects of microparticles are analyzed from the aspects of cell manipulation, bioassay, and anticounterfeiting. Finally, the limitations of functional microparticles are summarized and their future advances are prospected, aiming to provide help for the controllable preparation and application of functional microparticles.