Microfluidics

Microfluidics works with channels roughly 1–1000 µm across, handling microlitre-to-picolitre volumes. A whole laboratory protocol can be routed through a network of tiny channels on a single chip.

Because surface and viscous forces dominate over inertia and gravity at this scale, fluids behave predictably (laminar flow) and new capabilities — droplets, capillary filling, precise gradients — become possible.