ABSTRACT

During the past years, the focus of biotechnological system development has gradually switched from DNA lab-on-chips to protein reactors and ‰nally to cellular microsystems. It has been recognized that the study of DNA and proteins-although important they were-could not furnish all the data needed by the biologists. It is now certain that the understanding of the intracellular mechanisms and of the communication between cells is fundamental, not only in the ‰eld of biology but also in medicine and pharmacology.