Fabrication and Applications of Microfluidic Devices: A Review

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 4; p. 2011
• Main Authors: Niculescu, Adelina-Gabriela, Chircov, Cristina, Bîrcă, Alexandra Cătălina, Grumezescu, Alexandru Mihai
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.02.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Aluminum; Animals; Biocompatibility; Cell Culture Techniques - instrumentation; Cell Culture Techniques - methods; Ceramics; Coronaviruses; Drug Delivery Systems - methods; Glass; High-Throughput Screening Assays - instrumentation; High-Throughput Screening Assays - methods; Humans; Manufacturing; Metals; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - instrumentation; Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - methods; Microfluidics - instrumentation; Microfluidics - methods; Molecular Biology - instrumentation; Molecular Biology - methods; Nanomaterials; Nanoparticles; Nanoparticles - administration & dosage; Nanoparticles - chemistry; Pharmaceutical Preparations - administration & dosage; Polymers; Review; Semiconductors; Silicon; fabrication techniques; microfluidic devices; chip materials; organ-on-a-chip; drug delivery; biomedical applications
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22042011

Microfluidics is a relatively newly emerged field based on the combined principles of physics, chemistry, biology, fluid dynamics, microelectronics, and material science. Various materials can be processed into miniaturized chips containing channels and chambers in the microscale range. A diverse repertoire of methods can be chosen to manufacture such platforms of desired size, shape, and geometry. Whether they are used alone or in combination with other devices, microfluidic chips can be employed in nanoparticle preparation, drug encapsulation, delivery, and targeting, cell analysis, diagnosis, and cell culture. This paper presents microfluidic technology in terms of the available platform materials and fabrication techniques, also focusing on the biomedical applications of these remarkable devices.