
**Host** : Alexander Bittner
Nowadays, microfluidic technology is one of the most expanding fields of
research, with an estimated world market of about 3 billion dollars in year
2014.[1] It is ambitioned that microfluidics will have a mayor contribution in
the life science and biotechnology sectors trough the development of point-of-
care (POC) diagnostics, biosensors, devices for cell biology and the
environmental, food and agricultural industries.
In order to achieve these goals, the development of fully integrated
autonomous micro-fluidic devices is of critical relevance. The lack of robust
fundamental building blocks for fluid control and sensing are the mayor
drawbacks.[2, 3] Therefore, in these devices, the use of smart valves and
pumps[4] is essential for the manipulation and control of flows at the
microscale.[5, 6] In addition, smart functional materials with sensing
properties, integrable in microfluidics, are necessary to fabricate devices at
a lower cost and with high commercial and economical potentials.[7, 8]
Here I review our latest results on the generation of novel microfluidic
platforms that integrate smart functional materials with sensing and actuating
capabilities.
**_References: _**
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[1] www.yole.fr/
[2] Portable Integrated Microfluidic Platform for the Monitoring and Detection
of Nitrite, M. Czugala, C. Fay, Noel O’Connor, B. Corcoran, F. Benito-
Lopez*, D. Diamond, 2013, Talanta, 116, 997-1004.
[3] CMAS: Fully Integrated Portable Centrifugal Microfluidic Analysis System
for On-site Colorimetric Analysis, M. Czugala, D. Maher, F. Collins, R.
Burger, F. Hopfgartner, Y. Yang, J. Zhaou, J. Ducrée, A. Smeaton, K. J.
Fraser, F. Benito-Lopez*, D. Diamond, RSC Advances, 2013, 3, 15928–15938.
[4] Photo-Chemopropulsion - Light Stimulated Movement of Micro Droplets, L.
Florea, K. Wagner, P. Wagner, G. W. Wallace, F. Benito-Lopez*, D. L. Officer,
D. Diamond*, 2013, Advance Materials, DOI: 10.1002/adma.201403007
[5]Swelling and Shrinking Behaviour of Photoresponsive Phosphonium-based
Ionogel Microstructures, M. Czugala, C. O’Connel, C. Blin, P. Fischer, K. J.
Fraser, F. Benito-Lopez*, D. Diamond, 2014, Sens. Actuators B, 194, 105-113.
[6] Self-protonating Spiropyran-co-NIPAM-co-acrylic Acid Hydrogels as
Reversible Photoactuators, B. Ziółkowski, L. Florea, J. Theobald, F. Benito-
Lopez, Dermot Diamond, Soft Matter, 2013, 9, 8754-8760.
[7] Probing the Specific Ion Effects of Biocompatible Hydrated Choline Ionic
Liquids on Lactate Oxidase Biofunctionality, V. F. Curto, S. Scheuermann, R.
Owens, V. Ranganathan, D. R. MacFarlane, F. Benito-Lopez*, D. Diamond, 2014,
Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 2014, 16 (5), 1841-1849.
[8] Self-assembled Solvato-morphologically Controled Photochromic Crystals, L.
Florea, S. Scarmagnani, F. Benito-Lopez*, D. Diamond, Chem. Commun. 2014,50
(8), 893-1032. (Front Cover)