Lab-on-a-chip applications

R., Chow, A., Chien, R.-L, Chow, C., Parce, J. W., Commercialized and emerging Lab-on-a-Chip applications, in Ramsey, J. M., van den Berg, A. (Eds.), Micro Total Analysis Systems, pp. 7-9, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht (2001). 

L. Nyholm, Electrochemical techniques for lab-on-a-chip applications. Analyst 130, 599-605 (2005). 

Mortensen, N. A. Xiao, S. Pedersen, J., Liquid infiltrated photonic crystals Enhanced light matter interactions for lab on a chip applications, Microfluid. Nanofluid. 2008, 4, 117 127... 

Figure 13.2 Illustration of the various types of injection methods for lab-on-a-chip applications (a) floating, (b) direct, (c) pinched, and (d) gated. The labeled positions are as follows for panels (a), (b), and (c) reservoir 1 is for buffer, reservoir 2 for sample, reservoir 3 for sample waste, and reservoir 4 is for buffer waste. For panel (d), reservoir 1 is for sample and reservoir 2 is for buffer.

J. Aizenberg, T. Krapenkin and P. Kolodner, Accelerated chenucal reactions for lab-on-a-chip applications using electrowetting-induced droplet self oscillations. Materiis Research Society Symposium Proceedings 915,103-111 (2006). 

This review contains examples of microfluidic platforms for lab-on-a-chip applications which were selected as fitting to our platform definition and no comprehensiveness is claimed. The review should, however, provide the reader with some orientation in the field and the ability to select platforms with appropriate characteristics on the basis of application-specific requirements. 

TABLE 2. Market segments for microfluidic lab-on-a-chip applications and their requirements ... 

The fact that 6 billion glucose test strips were sold in 2007 [88] already indicates that the LAT may be seen as a gold-standard microfluidic platform in terms of cost, handling simplicity, robustness, market presence and the number of implemented lab-on-a-chip applications [69]. The amount of sample and reagent consumption are quite low, and the concept is mainly used for qualitative or semi-quantitative assays. Especially the complete disposable test carriers with direct visual readout, easy handling, and a time-to-result between seconds and several minutes are predestined for untrained users. 

Platforms for Lab-on-a-Chip Applications, Centrifugal Microfluidics for Lab-on-a-Chip Applications are also given. 

Gerlach G, Gunther M, Sorber J, Suchaneck G, Arndt KF, Richter A (2005) Chemical and pH sensors based on the swelling behavior of hydrogels. Sens Actual B 111-112 555-561 Good BT, Bowman CN, Davis RH (2007) A water-activated pump for portable microfluidic applications. J Colloid Interface Sci 305 239-249 Haeberle S, Zengerle R (2007) Microfluidic platforms for lab-on-a-chip applications. Lab Chip 7 1094-1110... 

A number of fiber optic-based systems have been described for CE-LIF systems. " These systems boast a small footprint, and the terminal of the fiber optic can be placed exceedingly close to the detection window, thus enabling high collection efficiency. Hence, fiber optics are an excellent choice for systems where the overall footprint must be kept to a minimum, such as field-deployable sensors or lab-on-a-chip applications. 

CL is an attractive detection method for CE in part due to its simple instrumentation. An external radiation source is not required, reduces instrument cost, complexity, as well as the overall footprint of the instrument. In addition, since there is no background from an excitation source, there is no need to filter the collected radiation, which increases detection efficiency. In its simplest form, a CE-CL instrument can consist of only a capillary, power supply, and a detector, such as a PMT or photodiode detector. The small footprint of such instrumentation is particularly attractive for microscale total analysis systems (p,TAS) or lab-on-a-chip applications. - " ... 

Another appHcation was foreseen with 2-D polymers being placed over cavities, without mechanical destruction. These structures should be very sensitive to pressure differences on both sides, and might therefore serve as ultrasensitive sensors for pressure changes [18]. Furthermore, 2-D platforms with defined anchor groups in the z-direction could be used not only for the construction of structurally well-defined 3-D materials, but also for catalysis, electrical circuits, and molecular electronics in general. Moreover, when it becomes possible to decorate 2D polymers with useful sensors and handle them in a controlled fashion, then lab-on-a-chip applications might also profit from such platforms. 

The droplet-based microfluidic platforms for Lab-on-a-Chip applications can be fundamentally divided into two basic setups, the channel-based and the planar surface approach [2]. The channel-based systems are mostly pressure driven with droplet generation and manipulation relying on actuation via liquid flows within closed microchaimels. For the planar surface-based platforms, droplets can be arbitrarily moved in two dimensions representing planar programmable Lab-on-Chips. They are actuated by electrowetting (EWOD) or surface acoustic waves (SAW). 

Optofluidics holds the most potential in lab-on-a-chip application. Being compatible with conventional microfluidics is the key advantage of elastomer-based tunable optofluidic devices. PDMS microfluidic chips are extensively utilized in biological and chemical studies. Due to similarities in materials and fabrication methods, PDMS-based tunable optofluidic devices can be easily integrated with other PDMS-based microfluidic devices to enable more complex and multiplexed functions. For example, tunable dye laser sources can be used... 

This actuation concept can be used for transport and sorting applications in droplet-based microfluidics. The results show the potential use of ferrofluid droplets as both a vehicle and a microreaction platform for droplet-based Lab-on-a-Chip applications. 

Crowley TA, Pizziconi V (2005) Isolation of plasma from whole blood using planar microfilters for lab-on-a-chip applications. Lab Chip 5 922-929 He B, Tan L, Regnier F (1999) Microfabricated filters for microfluidic analytical systems. Anal Chem 71 1464-1468... 

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