集成微流控芯片

Integrated microfluidic chips

作为一种能够在微米级尺度操纵液体的新兴技术,微流控芯片已经受到科学家们的广泛关注.高密度集成的微流控芯片装置可以实现高通量并行化的实验以及多种操作单元的功能一体化,作为一种新的方法学平台,已经越来越多地应用于化学和生命科学的研究中.本文着重介绍了集成化微流控芯片装置的基本概念、构建方法、及其在细胞生物学、分子生物学以及化学合成应用研究中的最新进展,尤其强调了集成微流控芯片系统在传统方法难以达成或实现的单细胞和高通量的研究中的优势,展望了集成化微流控芯片在化学以及生命科学中的应用前景.

Microfluidic chips represent a new opportunity for performing chemical or biological experiments at the micrometer scale with spatial and temporal control of the microenvironment. This technology has a number of advantages, including low reagent consumption, time savings and large scalability. Application of highly integrated microfluidic devices holds significant promise in chemistry and life science research. This review covers the basic concepts of integrated microfluidic chips with their applications in cell biology, protein analysis, nucleic acids research and chemical synthesis. In particular, novel applications in single molecule studies and high-throughput experiments will be presented. Many subjects that were previously challenging or impossible to manage with conventional methods are now potentially accessible using integrated microfluidic chips.