Biomedical applications of microfluidic devices: Achievements and challenges

摘要

There has been a recent interest in microfluidics due to their wide application and unique integration of concepts, including physics, materials science, chemistry, microelectronics, and biology. Microfluidic chips can be applied in different fields, particularly in the biomedical sector, such as drug delivery, diagnosis devices, cell culture, and scaffold fabrication. Various materials, including metals, polymers, and ceramics, can be manufactured into microscale chips with channels and chambers. Platforms of any required size, structure, or geometry can be fabricated using a wide range of fabrication techniques, for example, three-dimensional printing. This manuscript assesses the microfluidic devices starting from their historical development, materials, fabrication methods and challenges, as well as biomedical applications.