Lab on a chip - future technology for characterizing biotechnology products

Since the introduction of this research field in the late 1980s, a wide range of laboratory-based techniques have been translated to the microchip format. Two of these are of special interest for the characterisation of biotechnology products: protein crystallisation and chemical analysis. Both are based on the advantages on miniaturisation in terms of speed and throughput, and use microfluidic structures in their materialisation. Following an introduction to microfluidics, an overview of available methods for the fabrication of these devices is provided, focusing on approaches that are compatible or have potential for mass manufacturing and commercial use. Building on this background, recent advantages in protein crystallisation, assays and the future of miniaturised analytical systems for process monitoring are discussed. The article is concluded by a discussion around microfluidic systems developed for online monitoring of bioprocesses.