Themed collection Lab on a Chip Review Articles 2025

Advanced 3D models like organoids and brain-on-chip systems better mimic brain complexity, enabling improved monitoring of neural circuitry and offering new tools to study and treat neurodegenerative diseases.

A post-pandemic perspective on paper-based microfluidics by George Whitesides and collaborators. Sketch generated by artificial intelligence using an original photograph courtesy of Volker Steger (Science Photo Library).

Created in BioRender. Menon, N. (2025). https://www.BioRender.com/l48m487.

This review outlines a system-level framework for active implantable drug delivery systems (AIDDSs), analyzing how design choices in actuation, powering, and communication affect clinical translation and the development of scalable devices.

This tutorial review covers mammalian cell culture integration within digital microfluidic devices, exploring scaffolds, AC/DC effects on cell behavior, physical/biochemical stimuli delivery, on-chip analytics, sorting, and organ-on-chip aspects.

This review highlights current in vitro models as well as microfluidic dual- and multi-organ systems with a focus on absorption (skin, lung, gut) and metabolism (liver) studies.

Integration of low-frequency electrical impedance and broadband electromagnetic sensing with microfluidic devices enables high-throughput analysis of cell size, membrane properties, and intracellular characteristics.

Advances in 3D bone modeling using human-focused microphysiological systems (MPS), emphasizing scaffold and chip capabilities to mimic bone extracellular matrix for better disease modeling, drug discovery, and personalized treatments.

This review focuses on droplets in open microfluidics, covering their generation, manipulation and application in cell analysis. It could serve as a comprehensive guide for readers to understand and explore open droplet systems.

Tissue engineering offers immense potential for addressing the unmet needs in repairing tissue damage and organ failure through enhanced vascularization using microfluidic and bioprinting methods.

Neuroblastoma diagnosis typically relies on several invasive and time-consuming processes. POC testing provides rapid results, and often does not require specialised equipment or training, meaning that it can be used by patients at home.

Multiphase reactive flow in sustainable energy solutions (CCS, UHS, NWGD), coupling the multiphase flow, reactive transport, and microbial activities. The internal schematic diagram is the subsurface storage of CO₂, H₂, and nuclear waste.

This review overviews the state-of-the-art cancer-on-a-chip technology for tumor microenvironment modeling and therapy screening, and outlines the path to develop next generation of chip for precision cancer medicine.

Microfluidic platforms have gained significant attention for their role in rapid bacterial detection and the study of inflammatory diseases.

Vascular microphysiological systems (MPS) are biologically relevant platforms, enabling the study of physical parameters (shear stress, interstitial flow, permeability) and biomedical applications (tissue modeling, cancer research, drug screening).

This review provides an overview of state-of-the-art patient-derived 3D tumor models with a focus on patient-derived organotypic tumor spheroids (PDOTS), current preclinical applications, and future directions for preclinical and clinical use.

Synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) has garnered significant interest due to their wide-ranging applications. Microfluidics offers a superior alternative to traditional NPs synthesis by providing precise control over reaction parameters.

An overview of the evolving role of microfluidics within clinical laboratories and diagnostic settings.

This review presents recent advances in magnetic separation of blood cells, comparing labeled and unlabeled approaches, discussing device and particle design, outlining current challenges and future directions.

Competitive LFAs are widely employed to detect targets ranging from small molecules to large proteins across diverse fields. This review explores their function using theoretical models and critically addresses factors affecting their performance.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) carry myriad cargoes including genetic biomarkers inherited from parent cells as well as EV modifications by other entities. Complementary technologies have been developed to discover and translate diverse EV biomarkers.

This review highlights microfluidics as a disruptive platform for advancing carbon capture and storage, enabling rapid testing, enhanced mass transfer, and precise flow control while offering insight into mechanisms, tools, and design strategies.

Smartphones have the potential to transform chemical and biological analysis by functioning as portable, versatile, and democratized platforms for molecular diagnostics. Recent advances in optical detection and devices are reviewed.

This review highlights the advancements in 3D organotypic and organ-on-chip models for studying periodontal host–microbe interactions, offering insights into disease mechanisms and paving the way for novel therapeutic approaches.

This review focuses on recent microfluidic flow rate sensing methods for reliable sweat sensing, covering physiological relevance and providing technical insights.

We discuss the interesting and various opportunities arising from the synergistic integration of impedance cytometry with other microfluidic tools for single-cell analysis.

The retina is a complex and highly metabolic tissue in the back of the eye essential for human vision. In this review, we provide insights in the field of retina-on-chip based on current research.

Innovative microfluidic devices are essential for tracking single-cell secretion over time, enabling a deeper understanding of cell state transitions and molecular activity.

Heterogeneities among tumor cells significantly contribute towards cancer progression and therapeutic inefficiency. Herein, we discuss recent microfluidic platforms for sorting and profiling of tumor cells for prognostics and personalized therapies.

The synergy between nanoplasmonic and microfluidics opens a wealth of possibilities that span through several research fields and areas of applications, ranging from analytical chemistry to modern optofluidic devices.

The microfluidic-based technique that combines efficient isolation of EVs and multiple detection of EV cargos like proteins, nucleic acids, and glycans at bulk, single/single cell level to further demystify EV heterogeneity.

This review highlights recent technological advances for progress in particle manipulation under X-force fields, and forecasts the trajectory of future developments.

We review the application of micro- and milli-fluidic devices for in situ X-ray scattering, spectroscopy, and imaging in the physical sciences. In particular, we highlight the potential of analysis using commercial laboratory X-ray sources.

This review examines contributions of microfluidic technology to SELEX-based aptamer identification, with alternative methods such as in vivo-like SELEX and Non-SELEX for selecting aptamers and discussed critical SELEX steps over the past decade.

We review the latest developments in microsensor systems for monitoring the metabolism of cell cultures and organs-on-chip, including sensor principles, requirements, performance, notable achievements, and trends in microfabrication.

Centrifugal microfluidics, with its advantages of rapid and precise fluid control without the need for external pressure, is widely applied in point-of-care testing.

The human microbiome is vital for health. Droplet microfluidics offers a versatile toolbox for microbiome research, enabling single-cell sequencing, cultivation, and functional analyses to deepen our understanding and drive innovations.

Microfluidic blood fractionation has a critical role in enhancing liquid biopsy. Liquid biopsy allows molecular and phenotypic characteristics of a patient's tumor by detecting evidence of cancerous changes in readily accessible samples like blood.

Organs-on-chips (OoCs) can be directly fabricated by 3D bioprinting techniques, which enhance the structural and functional fidelity of organ models and broaden the applications of OoCs.

This review presents new advancements in placental MPS models for toxicological screening, preeclampsia assessment, and embryo uterine implantation and an overview of bioprinting technology and current advances in endometrial MPSs.