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Microfluidic Chips: The Revolution of Fluids

Have you read something about new chips that with a drop of your blood can analyse all your values ​​and even detect a possible disease? It is true that it seems very futuristic, but it is not. Microfluidic chips are one of the major areas of study in the world of technology in different areas.

Millions of people in the world work around them for various purposes, but what exactly are they? How do they work? Find out in this article.

What Are Microfluids?

Analyse, always analyse. Microfluidics, in scientific terms, is responsible for studying all fluids that have a micro size. To analyse them, it develops different devices that are able to determine their characteristics. These are composed of microchannels that are not visible to the human eye because they can be hundreds of times less thicker than a hair.

What moves this science is the fluid’s analysis at a minimum scale. This is why it has become popular for the analysis of body fluids that contribute to the maintenance of health. However, its application in the world of technology is enormous and promises to be even greater in the coming years.

What Are Microfluidic Chips?

A microfluidic chip is a device that is capable of processing a quantity of microscopic liquid. These chips are what allows the microfluidicanalysis to be done later. Through their microchannels, microfluidic chips can determine the characteristics of the fluid with which they came into contact. Its most common materials are acrylic, silicon or PDMS, which is derived from silicone and is highly prized for being transparent. The entire microfluidicchip is a kind of circuit system in which each element is assembled, but in which its activity begins when it comes into contact with the fluid.

How Do Microfluidic Chips Work?

But how is it possible for a small chip to determine so many things in a fluid? That entails a process that involves many parts. In addition to the chip, there are pumps. These are the ones that direct the liquid through the channels of the microfluidic chip, and thus, allow its analysis in an orderly way. Microfluidic chips can process the liquid regardless of the reactions it generates, as well as processing nano-sized cells.

Once the information on the microfluidic chip has been collected, the analysis begins. A series of data on certain parameters will be the result indicated by the microfluidic chip, but later, a professional will go on to discern and analyse them. Human capital is always important.

Where Are Microfluidic Chips Used?

The Microfluidic Chip is gaining space in all experimental sciences. Those that have become more popular have been those in the medical area, as there are more and more studies that promote blood tests through microfluidic chips. In this way, there may be a more efficient laboratory service. In addition, fertility-related medicine has also benefited from this technology.

However, the application of microfluidic chips is broader. These devices have also found spaces in the biological research of animals and plants, as well as the analysis of proteins of all types. Similarly, engineering applied to natural sciences has also used this technology that allows them to determine the characteristics of different earth fluids.

And now that you know this, would you dare to use a microfluidic chip in the future? Do you think that these devices are the revolution of fluids?