Microfluidics Meets MEMS

The use of planar fluidic devices for performing small-volume chemistry was first proposed by analytical chemists, who coined the term “miniaturized total chemical analysis systems” ( TAS) for this concept. More recently, the TAS field has begun to encompass other areas of chemistry and biology. To reflect this expanded scope, the broader terms “microfluidics” and “lab-on-a-chip” are now often used in addition to TAS. Most microfluidics researchers rely on micromachining technologies at least to some extent to produce microflow systems based on interconnected micrometer-dimensioned channels. As members of the microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) community know, however, one can do more with these techniques. It is possible to impart higher levels of functionality by making features in different materials and at different levels within a microfluidic device. Increasingly, researchers have considered how to integrate electrical or electrochemical function into chips for purposes as diverse as heating, temperature sensing, electrochemical detection, and pumping. MEMS processes applied to new materials have also resulted in new approaches for fabrication of microchannels. This review paper explores these and other developments that have emerged from the increasing interaction between the MEMS and microfluidics worlds.