Smart devices: lab-on-a-chip

Abstract

Microfluidic devices have become a reality in the healthcare sector for the analysis of (bio) chemical parameters and diagnosis applications, due to their small dimensions, accuracy, low cost, low power consumption, and portability. This chapter intends to discuss the main challenges regarding the application of lab-on-a-chip devices for diagnosis, from the miniaturization of microfluidics, to the materials, microtechnologies and on-chip integration of fluid manipulation and detection methods. In addition, this chapter provides an overview of successful diagnosis applications, including examples of analytical chemistry, particularly the detection of biomarkers for different diseases, evaluation of red blood cells deformability and HIV diagnostics.