Lab on a Chip

Abstract

Background: Miniaturization has not only driven microelectronics and generated new unforeseen options but has also dramatically changed sensors and analytics. Developments: The Lab on a Chip (LOC) technology enables laboratory processes to run fully automated in canals in the micrometre range. The biggest challenge for LOC is to keep production costs low despite miniaturization and application-specific design. If this is achieved medical laboratory analyses can usually be carried out faster and with less hands on time. This explains why LOCs are already integrated into many laboratory instruments and why point-of-care testing (POCT) can no longer be imagined without it. New markers, such as in liquid biopsies and measurement techniques, such as Raman spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy, create further potentials that will enable faster and more specific laboratory analyses to be made using LOC technology. Conclusion: The LOC technology has the potential of changing the medical practice especially in cases when the central laboratory is not available or is unable to provide results fast enough.