Detection principles and development of microfluidic sensors in the last decade

Abstract

Microfluidic sensor converts a physical quantity to useful signal with the help of microfluidic platform. Microfluidic sensors have got a wide attention in the last decade because of the increased demands from the automation and control in microsystems. This review on microfluidic sensors focuses on various types of sensors which have been developed for the microfluidic systems or applications based on the research contributions in the last decade. We start with a detailed comparison on the research developments in the last decade on microfluidic sensors with the help of year and country wise statistical charts on published works in the area. The review continues with the basics of microfluidic sensors and the working principles of microfluidic sensors by classifying various microfluidic sensors based on the parameter to be sensed. This review concludes with the attempt to provide an idea on research gap in the area of microfluidic sensors. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.