Main description:

Microfluidic devices are used to manipulate fluid such as blood, cell suspensions and therapies. This important technology is suitable for numerous applications from drug delivery to tissue engineering. The use of microfluidics in medicine is still evolving. As microfluidic devices can be cheaply made and are small, applications are continually being researched and produced in the medical field. This important book discusses the fundamentals of microfluidics and will provide information on a wide range of medical applications. The first set of chapters discuss the fundamentals of microfluidic devices for medical applications. Subsequent chapters look at drug delivery applications, applications in cell biology, tissue engineering and diagnostics. In the final set of chapters, sensing applications are then reviewed.

Contents:

Part 1 Fundamentals of microfluidic technologies: Glass and polymer (PC, PMMA, COC/COP) fabrication techniques for microfluidic medical devices; Digital microfluidics technologies for biomedical devices; Nanoimprint lithography for microfluidic medical devices; Components for fluid delivery, transport and control for microfluidic medical devices; Actuation mechanisms for microfluidic medical devices; Medical micro-device surface coatings. Part 2 Microfluidics for drug delivery and discovery applications: Controlled release of drugs and therapeutic proteins using microfluidic devices; Microneedles for drug delivery applications. Part 3 Microfluidics for cell manipulation and analysis: Microfluidics for cell manipulation; Microfluidics for single-cell analysis; Automated micro-robotic cell injection. Part 4 Microfluidics for tissue engineering applications: Microfluidics for developing tissue scaffolds; Organs on a chip - microfluidic devices for analyzing and supporting gut function; Microfluidic devices for analysing and culturing stem cells; Smart bioMEMS implants for medical applications. Part 5 Microfluidics for diagnostic applications: Microfluidics for monitoring pancreatic islets in the detection of diabetes; Microfluidic immunoassays for protein analysis; Point-of-care microdevices for glucose and lithium measurement; Low-cost microfluidic diagnosis of glucose and protein; Microfluidics for genetic analysis. Part 6 Microfluidics for biomedical sensing and imaging: Optical and electrochemical microfluidic biosensors using nanostructured materials; Micro-reactor: microfluidic chips for the systhesis of positron emission tomography in clinical diagnosis.