- The most exciting aspect of MF systems is probably the system integration with
different biochemical operations such as sample pre-treatment, sample prepara-
tion and detection on one single platform. These devices are referred to as micro
total analysis system (μTAS) or lab-on-a-chip (LoC). Technologies need to be
developed in biological research to simplify complex assay protocols; to max-
imize information gathered from precious samples; to conduct analogous exper-
iments together and to provide the investigator with more control and
predictability of the spatio-temporal processes of the cellular microenvironment. - Micro sized components enable researchers to perform experiments which are
not possible or practical to execute with other bench top traditional techniques.
MF platforms are extensively being used in resource-rich research laboratories
to provide innovative solutions to non-feasible problems which may help in
understanding the fundamental insight into human biology. - With the fluidic components that approach the cellular scale, MF circuits offer
superb liquid handling capabilities that allow the manipulation of single cells and
even individual moleculesin vitro. Moreover, the small device size makes this
technology an ideal platform for portable Point of Care (PoC) diagnostic devices.
The number of research articles published in the field of MF has been exponen-
tially increasing year-on-year, reflecting the growing importance of this field and
some MF based devices are also available in the market. In this chapter, we will
discuss an overview of how and why MF is changing the scenario of biological
analysis and diagnostics. The advances made by MF technology in academic
research being conducted in the fields of stem cell research, neurology, tissue
culture, drug discovery and synthetic biology will also be presented. Finally,
some examples of commercial MF devices that are being successfully used for
biological and life sciences applications will be summarized.
2 Microfluidics in Cell Biology
Cells are the building blocks of all living organisms. The knowledge of cells and
their functions is thus important in several areas including cell biology, human
physiology, and tissue engineering. The basic cellular study involves the three most
important steps-isolation, culture, and analysis [ 2 , 3 ]. But conventional techniques
are inadequate for extending the present knowledge of these processes. Traditional
petri dish based cell culture systems are not able to mimic exactly in vivo cellular
microenvironments and as a result, many cellular phenotypes are lost. Natural
suitability of MF technology with all three cell handling processes has given new
insights into the study of cells in various contexts [ 4 ]. The integrated systems
fabricated have revolutionized the techniques of cell sorting, cell culture, and
cellular analysis.μTAS or LoC systems are the devices which integrate analytical
procedures of pretreatment, separation and analysis of samples in a single MF
device [ 4 , 5 ]. These systems play a significant role in research and discovery of
192 S. Solanki and C.M. Pandey