ABSTRACT
MicroŒuidics is the science and technology of systems that manipulate or process very small quantities of Œuids (10−9-10−18 L) using material structures and mechanical components with dimensions of tenths to hundreds of micrometers (Whitesides 2006). The miniaturization and integration of various analytical laboratory processes on a single, often disposable, platform (Shiu et al. 2010a) are a key design requirement for many lab-on-a-chip (LoC) and micrototal analysis systems (μTAS) used for medicine and environmental monitoring. Initially, microŒuidics was developed to reduce sample consumption and increase ef„ciency in particle separation methods like electrophoresis. The reduction in physical size permitted very small volumes of liquid concentrations to be used for performing analysis and chemical synthesis.
