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As its name implies, lab-on-a-chip (LOC) technology is essentially the integration of various laboratory functions onto a miniature platform. Microfluidic channels with widths of around 100 microns are etched in glass or silicon, or stamped in plastic, to produce a network of liquid handling subsystems, reaction chambers, and detection cells. A variety of such systems can be built in parallel on a single chip, and this miniaturization leads to beneficial reductions in measurement time, sample consumption, and toxic waste.
In terms of how they are used, LOCs are designed to automate processes such as capillary electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), flow cytometry, blood chemistry analysis, and DNA analysis. Arrays of proteins or DNA oligomers are also classified as lab on a chip. In such devices, fluorescently labeled proteins or DNA fragments bind to complementary sites on the array. The location of the binding identifies structure, while intensity determines concentration.
Due to the small amounts of analyte involved, detection methods must be extremely sensitive. Surface plasmon resonance and fluorescence detection are two methodologies of choice. Illumination requires a light source that can be focused to a bright spot, such as a laser, and optical detection often demands the sensitivity and wide dynamic range of a photomultiplier tube (PMT). In some cases, the sensitivity increase from a time delay integration (TDI) CCD will be sufficient to measure many parallel channels.
For more information, see Nature's series of review articles on LOC technology.
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