Figure 1 |. A flow diagram highlighting crucial developments in microfluidics, from fabrication approaches and functional developments in the evolution of the technology platform to some of the applications discussed in this Review.

As early as the 1960s, seminal microfluidic technologies were increasing the speed and resolution of bioanalysis for a small number of powerful analytical tools^136–138. Crucial fabrication developments, which began in 1990, allowed researchers to transition from using pulled glass capillaries to microfabricated glass or polymer microchannels^3,139. Microfluidic tools have precisely defined features and contain highly complex channel networks and fluidic components that can execute specific functions^{13,48,91,140–144}. In the past decade, the increasing availability of fluidic components and number of experienced microfluidic researchers have opened the door to new biological applications; these include new single-cell measurements^5,12,21, high-throughput monoclonal antibody screening⁶, analysis of dynamic phenomena^21,77,85 and organ-on-a-chip platforms¹⁵. PDMS, polydimethylsiloxane.