More About Microfluidics

Microfluidics in general refers to systems which manipulate fluids in microchannels and microdevices ranging from nanometers to hundreds of microns in size. Typical fluid volumes elements that can be manipulated in such systems range in size from microliters to picoliters. One common name used for devices which handle fluids at these size scales is “lab-on-a-chip” devices. Such devices are already finding applications in a variety of areas including microchemical reactors systems, combinatorial materials synthesis and characterization, drug development and screening, genetic diagnostics and testing, and many other emerging areas. Microfluidics research in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering spans the full range of activities in the field of microfludics including (1) materials design, synthesis, and selection for device fabrication, (2) development of novel fabrication processes, (3) design and characterization of novel microfluidic systems, (4) use of microfluidic systems as research tools for studying a variety of phenomena in fields ranging from bioengineering to polymer reaction engineering, and (5) integration of microfluidic systems with other microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).