The Future of Miniaturization: The Intersection of Microfluidics, Separation, and Lab-on-a-chip Technology

摘要

Microfluidics refers to the science and technology of manipulating fluids in networks of channels with dimensions that range from single to hundreds of micrometers. One of the initial goals of microfludicis was to create small-scale chemical reactors that could leverage advantages gained by the unique flow dimensions in this environment, including the smaller amounts of chemicals necessary for reactions. One resulting phenomenon was the observation that two different aqueous streams, when channeled and intersected into a final stream, stayed almost completely unmixed due to laminar flow. This property of separation has opened a new arena of opportunities in microfluidics with the potential to enable growth and provide new direction for a wide range of applications including lab-on-a-chip, drug discovery platforms, and biosensors.