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Selectively modified microfluidic chip for solvent extraction of Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza using three-phase laminar flow to provide double liquid–liquid interface area

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Abstract

Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza, a famous herb medicine is widely used in China and limitedly used in USA, Japan, and other countries for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. This herb medicine has two groups (non-polar and polar) of active ingredients with distinct clinical effects, and thus theses ingredients should be separately used to enhance therapeutic efficacy and reduce side effect. In this article, as an alternative of conventional mechanical shaking and separatory funnel, laminar flow extraction in microfluidic chip is proposed to separate the two kinds of herb ingredients. Compared with conventional methods, microfluidic chip provides continuous extraction, less labor intensity, and better performance. Furthermore, we employ three-phase laminar flow to provide double liquid–liquid interface area, circumventing the low efficiency of two-phase laminar flow. Therefore, the extraction ratio is dramatically improved to 92% (tanshinone IIA). To predict the extraction ratio, a straightforward theoretical model is also established and agrees well with the experimental results. This microfluidic chip would be a powerful technical platform for handling complicated natural products.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by National Basic Research Program of China (2007CB714505) and Ministry of Education of China (20080031012). The authors would like to thank Professor Yao Bo (Zhejiang University) for fruitful discussions, Dr. Zhang Min (ECUST) and Qi Xiaocheng (JXUTCM) for helping in herb medicine, and Professor Zhang Xi and Wan Pengbo (Tsinghua University) for measuring contact angle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Pharmacy, East China University of Science and Technology, 200237, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Xuan Mu & Guoan Luo

  2. Key Laboratory of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, 100084, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Xuan Mu, Qionglin Liang, Kangning Ren, Yiming Wang & Guoan Luo

  3. College of Chemical and Molecular Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 200237, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

    Ping Hu

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  1. Xuan Mu
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  2. Qionglin Liang
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  4. Kangning Ren
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  5. Yiming Wang
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Correspondence to Qionglin Liang or Guoan Luo.

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Mu, X., Liang, Q., Hu, P. et al. Selectively modified microfluidic chip for solvent extraction of Radix Salvia Miltiorrhiza using three-phase laminar flow to provide double liquid–liquid interface area. Microfluid Nanofluid 9, 365–373 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10404-009-0554-y

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