The role of microfluidics in protein formulations with pre-programmed functional characteristics

Abstract

Protein-based therapies hold great promise for treating many diseases. Nevertheless, the challenges of producing therapies with targeted attributes via standardized processes may hinder the development of protein formulations and clinical translation of the advanced therapies. Microfluidics represents a promising technology to develop protein formulations with pre-programmed functional characteristics, including size, morphology, and controlled drug release property. In this review, we discuss some examples of adopting microfluidics for fabricating particle- and fiber/tube-based formulations and highlight the advantages of microfluidics-assisted fabrication.

Keywords:

• protein therapy
• microfluidics
• biofabrication
• controlled release

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Chinese University of Hong Kong start-up fund.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.