{"id":10295,"date":"2025-08-27T21:32:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T18:32:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/?p=10295"},"modified":"2026-05-27T12:02:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T09:02:21","slug":"microfluidic-laboratory-on-the-brain-and-its-role-in-modern-science-and-medicine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/microfluidic-laboratory-on-the-brain-and-its-role-in-modern-science-and-medicine\/","title":{"rendered":"Microfluidics: a lab on a chip and its role in modern science and medicine"},"content":{"rendered":"<p data-start=\"272\" data-end=\"769\">Microfluidics is a young but extremely promising field of science and technology that studies the movement and control of fluids in systems with microscopic channels. It is also often called <em data-start=\"464\" data-end=\"487\">\u201clab on a chip\u201d<\/em>, because an entire complex for performing biochemical or medical analyses is placed on an area of a few centimeters. The main idea is that even very complex laboratory processes can be implemented in a reduced format, using a minimum amount of sample and reagents.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"771\" data-end=\"816\"><strong data-start=\"774\" data-end=\"814\">Principles of operation of microfluidic systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"817\" data-end=\"1312\">\n<li data-start=\"817\" data-end=\"942\">\n<p data-start=\"819\" data-end=\"942\"><strong data-start=\"819\" data-end=\"842\">Microvolumes of liquid.<\/strong> Instead of milliliters, only microliters or even nanoliters are needed, making research cheaper.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"943\" data-end=\"1087\">\n<p data-start=\"945\" data-end=\"1087\"><strong data-start=\"945\" data-end=\"973\">Precise flow control.<\/strong> In microchannels, the movement of fluid can be controlled using pumps, valves, surface tension, or electric fields.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1088\" data-end=\"1186\">\n<p data-start=\"1090\" data-end=\"1186\"><strong data-start=\"1090\" data-end=\"1112\">High sensitivity.<\/strong> In small volumes, even insignificant concentrations of substances are easy to detect.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1187\" data-end=\"1312\">\n<p data-start=\"1189\" data-end=\"1312\"><strong data-start=\"1189\" data-end=\"1216\">Multifunctionality.<\/strong> Sample preparation, reaction processing, and results can be combined on a single chip.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 data-start=\"1314\" data-end=\"1347\"><strong data-start=\"1317\" data-end=\"1345\">Microfluidics in medicine<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"1348\" data-end=\"1804\">\n<li data-start=\"1348\" data-end=\"1465\">\n<p data-start=\"1350\" data-end=\"1465\"><strong data-start=\"1350\" data-end=\"1382\">Rapid diagnosis of infections.<\/strong> Tests for HIV, influenza, COVID-19 or malaria can be performed within minutes.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1466\" data-end=\"1586\">\n<p data-start=\"1468\" data-end=\"1586\"><strong data-start=\"1468\" data-end=\"1482\">Oncology.<\/strong> Using chips to isolate circulating tumor cells from the blood allows for early detection of cancer.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1587\" data-end=\"1709\">\n<p data-start=\"1589\" data-end=\"1709\"><strong data-start=\"1589\" data-end=\"1609\"><a href=\"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/what-does-genetic-testing-show-and-why-is-it-needed\/\">Genetic tests<\/a>.<\/strong> PCR in microfluidic systems detects mutations associated with hereditary diseases faster and cheaper.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"1710\" data-end=\"1804\">\n<p data-start=\"1712\" data-end=\"1804\"><strong data-start=\"1712\" data-end=\"1740\">Prenatal diagnostics.<\/strong> Fetal DNA testing from maternal blood without invasive interventions.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 data-start=\"1806\" data-end=\"1856\"><strong data-start=\"1809\" data-end=\"1854\">Personalized medicine and microfluidics<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"1857\" data-end=\"1943\">Microfluidic technologies are becoming the basis <strong data-start=\"1896\" data-end=\"1923\">personalized medicine<\/strong>. They allow:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"1944\" data-end=\"2156\">\n<li data-start=\"1944\" data-end=\"2019\">\n<p data-start=\"1946\" data-end=\"2019\">conduct tests at home using portable devices;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2020\" data-end=\"2091\">\n<p data-start=\"2022\" data-end=\"2091\">select treatment depending on the unique characteristics of the body;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2092\" data-end=\"2156\">\n<p data-start=\"2094\" data-end=\"2156\">quickly test the response of a patient&#039;s cells to various drugs.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"2158\" data-end=\"2288\">This is especially important in the treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, and cardiology, where the selection of therapy is of great importance for prognosis.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2158\" data-end=\"2288\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-10297\" src=\"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/themes\/woodmart\/images\/lazy.svg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia.jpg\" alt=\"Microchannel system in a microfluidic device\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" srcset=\"\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/doktor-nazatiem-virtual-nogo-prilozenia-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"2290\" data-end=\"2344\"><strong data-start=\"2293\" data-end=\"2342\">Microfluidics in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"2345\" data-end=\"2673\">\n<li data-start=\"2345\" data-end=\"2437\">\n<p data-start=\"2347\" data-end=\"2437\"><strong data-start=\"2347\" data-end=\"2366\">Drug screening.<\/strong> Thousands of substance variants can be tested simultaneously at the micro level.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2438\" data-end=\"2574\">\n<p data-start=\"2440\" data-end=\"2574\"><strong data-start=\"2440\" data-end=\"2459\">Organs-on-a-chip.<\/strong> Scientists are creating models of the heart, lungs, or liver on chips to test the effects of drugs without animal testing.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2575\" data-end=\"2673\">\n<p data-start=\"2577\" data-end=\"2673\"><strong data-start=\"2577\" data-end=\"2601\">Cellular technologies.<\/strong> The chips provide a controlled environment for cell and tissue growth.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 data-start=\"2675\" data-end=\"2710\"><strong data-start=\"2678\" data-end=\"2708\">Materials Science and Chemistry<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"2711\" data-end=\"2870\">\n<li data-start=\"2711\" data-end=\"2757\">\n<p data-start=\"2713\" data-end=\"2757\">creation of nanoparticles and new materials;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2758\" data-end=\"2815\">\n<p data-start=\"2760\" data-end=\"2815\">conducting hazardous reactions on a safe scale;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"2816\" data-end=\"2870\">\n<p data-start=\"2818\" data-end=\"2870\">optimization of chemical processes with high precision.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 data-start=\"2872\" data-end=\"2906\"><strong data-start=\"2875\" data-end=\"2904\">Microfluidics in oncology<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p data-start=\"2907\" data-end=\"3005\">It is worth mentioning separately <strong data-start=\"2928\" data-end=\"2967\">the role of microfluidics in cancer detection<\/strong>. Thanks to technology, it has become possible to:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"3006\" data-end=\"3176\">\n<li data-start=\"3006\" data-end=\"3062\">\n<p data-start=\"3008\" data-end=\"3062\">detect tumor cells in the blood at early stages;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3063\" data-end=\"3116\">\n<p data-start=\"3065\" data-end=\"3116\">analyze gene expression in tumor cells;<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3117\" data-end=\"3176\">\n<p data-start=\"3119\" data-end=\"3176\">perform &quot;liquid biopsies&quot; - without surgical intervention.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"3178\" data-end=\"3269\">This paves the way for early diagnosis <a href=\"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/what-oncomarkers-show-we-will-explain-simply-and-professionally\/\" title=\"What tumor markers show: we explain them simply and professionally\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"438\">oncology<\/a> and monitoring the effectiveness of treatment.<\/p>\n<h2 data-start=\"3271\" data-end=\"3314\"><strong data-start=\"3274\" data-end=\"3312\">Advantages over classical methods<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div class=\"_tableContainer_1rjym_1\">\n<div class=\"_tableWrapper_1rjym_13 group flex w-fit flex-col-reverse\">\n<table class=\"w-fit min-w-(--thread-content-width)\" data-start=\"3316\" data-end=\"3652\">\n<thead data-start=\"3316\" data-end=\"3373\">\n<tr data-start=\"3316\" data-end=\"3373\">\n<th data-start=\"3316\" data-end=\"3333\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Characteristic<\/th>\n<th data-start=\"3333\" data-end=\"3356\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Classic <a href=\"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/what-is-the-same-laboratory-medi-lab\/\" title=\"WHY MEDI LAB+ LABORATORY\"  data-wpil-monitor-id=\"426\">laboratory<\/a><\/th>\n<th data-start=\"3356\" data-end=\"3373\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Microfluidics<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody data-start=\"3432\" data-end=\"3652\">\n<tr data-start=\"3432\" data-end=\"3482\">\n<td data-start=\"3432\" data-end=\"3447\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Sample volume<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3447\" data-end=\"3459\" data-col-size=\"sm\">milliliters<\/td>\n<td data-col-size=\"sm\" data-start=\"3459\" data-end=\"3482\">micro- or nanoliths<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr data-start=\"3483\" data-end=\"3528\">\n<td data-start=\"3483\" data-end=\"3497\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Analysis time<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3497\" data-end=\"3510\" data-col-size=\"sm\">hours\u2013days<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3510\" data-end=\"3528\" data-col-size=\"sm\">minutes\u2013hours<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr data-start=\"3529\" data-end=\"3565\">\n<td data-start=\"3529\" data-end=\"3540\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Cost<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3540\" data-end=\"3549\" data-col-size=\"sm\">high<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3549\" data-end=\"3565\" data-col-size=\"sm\">much lower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr data-start=\"3566\" data-end=\"3603\">\n<td data-start=\"3566\" data-end=\"3582\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Automation<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3582\" data-end=\"3593\" data-col-size=\"sm\">limited<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3593\" data-end=\"3603\" data-col-size=\"sm\">high<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr data-start=\"3604\" data-end=\"3652\">\n<td data-start=\"3604\" data-end=\"3620\" data-col-size=\"sm\">Portability<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3620\" data-end=\"3637\" data-col-size=\"sm\">almost absent<\/td>\n<td data-start=\"3637\" data-end=\"3652\" data-col-size=\"sm\">very high<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 data-start=\"3654\" data-end=\"3690\"><strong data-start=\"3657\" data-end=\"3688\">Microfluidics in the future<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul data-start=\"3691\" data-end=\"4025\">\n<li data-start=\"3691\" data-end=\"3839\">\n<p data-start=\"3693\" data-end=\"3839\"><strong data-start=\"3693\" data-end=\"3719\">Home rapid tests.<\/strong> In the future, it will be possible to monitor glucose, vitamin, or hormone levels using a miniature device at home.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3840\" data-end=\"3943\">\n<p data-start=\"3842\" data-end=\"3943\"><strong data-start=\"3842\" data-end=\"3863\">Field medicine.<\/strong> In war zones or remote areas, such devices can save lives.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"3944\" data-end=\"4025\">\n<p data-start=\"3946\" data-end=\"4025\"><strong data-start=\"3946\" data-end=\"3959\">Ecology.<\/strong> Water and soil analysis for contamination will become accessible and cheap.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"4027\" data-end=\"4342\">Microfluidics is a real revolution in science, medicine, and pharmaceuticals. It allows you to get results faster, cheaper, and more accurately than traditional methods. Thanks to these technologies, we are moving into a new era - the era of personalized medicine, affordable diagnostics, and safe research.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Microfluidics is a young but extremely promising field of science and technology that studies the movement and control of fluids in systems with<\/p>","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":10296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/medilab.km.ua\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}