36 / 84
Introduction
As the microelectronic revolution
changed the way how electronic
components were manufactured 50
years ago, a similar development can
be seen in the Life Sciences with the
concept of the so-called “Lab-on-a-Chip”
or microfluidics technology, which deals
with the handling and manipulation
of miniature amounts of liquids and
was introduced almost 30 years ago
[1]. After the number of scientific
publications within the microfluidics area
has dramatically increased between
2000 and 2010, the commercialization
of microfluidics-enabled products has
been picking up speed. We have seen
the technology making a tremendous
step from being a “technology looking
for a problem” to a widely used truly
enabling technology. Nowadays almost
no product development in the field of
diagnostics or analytical sciences takes
place which does not involve elements
with microfluidic functionality.
surface-to-volume ratio makes the
environment in which the fluids are
contained extremely well controlled.
Last but not least, miniaturization
offers the potential to automate many
laborious laboratory processes which
often include many manual steps
like pipetting, sample transfer etc.,
again reducing the cost and time of
the complete analytical process and
reducing the risk of procedural error.
These advantages have proven to
be very attractive, first spurning the
very large scientific activity in the
field and increasingly also in form of
commercial products.
Functional integration
One of the most important advances
in recent years is the ability to transfer
complex analytical or diagnostic
processes onto a single microfluidics
device.
Figure 1 shows typical process steps
which have to be realized during a
Lab-on-a-Chip technology
-
a key enabler for life science
and diagnostics
Holger Becker, Claudia Gärtner
–
microfluidic ChipShop GmbH
Several drivers behind the current
commercial development can be
named: Firstly, the fundamental scaling
laws which favor miniaturization with
mechanisms like diffusion and heat
transport. This reduces overall time
from the input of a sample to the
analytical result to minutes rather
than the hours or even days in larger
systems. Secondly, the cost and the
overall available volume of reagents
in the Life Sciences is often a critical
factor. By reducing these volumes, not
only a cost reduction can be achieved
but often this represents the only way
of processing scarce material. Thirdly,
many functional elements of biology,
e.g. cells, blood vessels, bacteria etc.
have a size which lies exactly in the
range of microfabrication methods,
making it an ideal fit between
manufacturing technologies and
applications. Fourthly, the very high
geometrical accuracies of miniaturized
systems together with the high
36 l New-Tech Magazine Europe