Miniaturisation in the biotechnology laboratory

Although existing in many individual designs and applications the common feature of the many “Lab-on-a-Chip (LOC)” devices now available is that they involve the scaling down of single or multiple lab processes in a single chip format whose dimensions can be as small as that of a postage stamp. Although creating particular engineering and technical challenges, such scaling down offers many advantages, such as less sample, smaller reagent and waste volumes, faster analysis and lower cost. This article reviews some of the recent applications of LOC in biotechnology and introduces the promising new concept of “Lab in a Cell (LIC)”.