In recent years there has been a surge in methods to synthesize geometrically and chemically complex microparticles. Analogous to atoms, the concept of a "periodic table" of particles has emerged and continues to be expanded upon. Complementing the natural intellectual curiosity that drives the creation of increasingly intricate particles is the pull from applications that take advantage of such high-value materials. Complex particles are now being used in fields ranging from diagnostics and catalysis to self-assembly and rheology, where material composition and microstructure are closely linked with particle function. This is especially true of polymer hydrogels, which offer an attractive and broad class of base materials for synthesis. Lithography affords the ability to engineer particle properties a priori and leads to the production of homogenous ensembles of particles. This review summarizes recent advances in synthesizing hydrogel microparticles using lithographic processes and highlight a number of emerging applications. We discuss advantages and limitations of current strategies, and conclude with an outlook on future trends in the field.

中文翻译：

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来自光刻工艺的水凝胶微粒：用于基础和应用胶体科学的新材料。

近年来，合成几何和化学复杂微粒的方法激增。类似于原子，粒子“周期表”的概念已经出现并继续扩展。对推动创造越来越复杂粒子的自然求知欲的补充是来自利用此类高价值材料的应用程序的吸引力。复杂粒子现在被用于从诊断和催化到自组装和流变学等领域，其中材料成分和微观结构与粒子功能密切相关。聚合物水凝胶尤其如此，它为合成提供了一类有吸引力且广泛的基础材料。光刻提供了先验地设计粒子特性的能力，并导致产生均匀的粒子集合。本综述总结了使用光刻工艺合成水凝胶微粒的最新进展，并重点介绍了一些新兴应用。我们讨论了当前策略的优势和局限性，最后对该领域的未来趋势进行了展望。