Microfluidics for Biologists Fundamentals and Applications

(National Geographic (Little) Kids) #1
Chapter 10

Challenges and Future


Ajeet Kaushik and Chandra K. Dixit


Since the discovery of microfluidics systems (MEMS), efforts have been used to
use these automated architecture widely for health care. The systems are miniatur-
ized and revolutionized the way we deal biological samples and biological matrix.
BioMEMS is a choice of system for accurate and precise measurement, wherein a
very low sample volume is available to measure. The design and fabrication of an
appropriate BioMEMS enable us to understand how a single cell is completely
different from multiple cells and spheroids. This happened in practice because
BioMEMS technology opened the ways to study physiology of a single cell and
to understand the heterogeneity in the cellular population of the same decent using
morphological, optical, and electrical analytical tools. Another example is to
develop BioMEMS integrated biosensor which can detect target biomarkers using
10 μL of sample volume.
BioMEMS becomes an essential component to develop health care devices for
personalized management. However, due to requirement of highly sophisticated
fabrication set-up consist of clean room equipped with expensive equipment limits
the production of BioMEMS. Beside this, the need of high operation expertise to
function and manage a fabrication tool is also a major issue to promote such
systems for desired application. Scientists have made considerable efforts to fabri-
cate a BioMEMS of reduced form factor, easy operational, easy to integrate, easy to
package, shock proof, no-dead volume, and affordable. Such devices potentially
can be useful for field of life sciences, from basics to industrial to diagnostics.


A. Kaushik (*)
Department of Immunology, Center for Personalized Nanomedicine, Institute
of NeuroImmune Pharmacology, Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine,
Florida International University, Miami, FL 33199, USA
e-mail:[email protected]


C.K. Dixit
Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT 06269, USA


©Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016
C.K. Dixit, A. Kaushik (eds.),Microfluidics for Biologists,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40036-5_10


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