Microfluidics, a versatile tool in healthcare

Microfluidics is defined as the manipulation of small volumes of fluid (10 ^–9 to 10 ^–18 L) in channels of micrometric dimensions (< 100 μm). This change of scale not only leads to paradigm shifts in the properties of liquids, but also to the possibility of miniaturizing manufacturing, characterization, study and manipulation processes that usually occupy substantial laboratory space.

These adaptations were the subject of numerous studies initiated in the 1970s: gas chromatography separation processes, miniaturization of electrophoresis processes, applications that are now diversifying and responding to the challenges of the pharmaceutical industry in particular. Whether it's continuous flow synthesis, active ingredient screening, product quality control, innovative drug formulation or organ-on-a-chip design, microfluidics offers new constraints, but also interesting prospects: reduced volumes and reagents, process safety, dimensional control, lower costs... these are just some of the advantages investigated in this fact sheet.

Bringing a new drug to market is a long (between 10 and 20 years) and complex process. The first step is to identify and produce an active molecule (discovery phase), then the second (development phase: synthesis, formulation, evaluation) is to transform it into a product that can be approved by the health authorities and then marketed (commercialization phase). With this in mind, the advantages of microfluidics in the stages of therapeutic target identification with enzymes or cells, synthesis of active ingredients, galenic formulation, drug delivery, and also diagnostic aspects via Points-of-care (tests as close to the patient as possible) are highlighted. The different chips used (continuous flow, discontinuous flow in drops or wells, capillarity, and microneedling), as well as the level of maturity of these microtechnologies for each stage, are discussed. Challenges and limitations, such as the difficulty of miniaturizing liquid transport and detection systems, quality control, and scaling up production, are analyzed.

A glossary and table of acronyms are provided at the end of the article.