Microfluidic technologies in drug discovery

• Published in: Drug discovery today Vol. 10; no. 20; pp. 1377 - 1383
• Main Authors: Pihl, Johan, Karlsson, Mattias, Chiu, Daniel T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 15.10.2005; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical - instrumentation; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical - methods; Chemistry, Pharmaceutical - trends; drug discovery; General pharmacology; HTS; ion channels; Medical sciences; Microfabrication; microfluidics; Microfluidics - instrumentation; Microfluidics - methods; Microfluidics - trends; Pharmaceutical technology. Pharmaceutical industry; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Technology, Pharmaceutical - instrumentation; Technology, Pharmaceutical - methods; Technology, Pharmaceutical - trends; Techniques & Methods; Pharmaceutical Science; Microfabrication; HTS; Biophysics; Drug Discovery; microfluidics; ion channels; Drug; Research and development; Pharmaceutical technology
• ISSN: 1359-6446; 1878-5832
• DOI: 10.1016/S1359-6446(05)03571-3

Microfluidic technologies are emerging as powerful tools in many stages of the drug discovery process, and this article will introduce the readers to microfluidics, followed by a presentation of the main companies that provide microfluidic platforms each targeting different bottlenecks in the drug discovery process. Microfluidic systems are increasingly used as tools in various stages of the drug discovery process. Microscale systems offer several obvious advantages, such as low sample consumption and significantly reduced analysis or experiment time. These technologies raise the possibility of massive parallelization and concomitant reduction in cost per acquired data point. In addition, fluids in confined spaces display unique behaviors that can be used to acquire information not accessible using macroscopic systems. This article will focus on the implementation of microfluidic systems and technologies in the process of drug discovery.