Bookmark and Share 12 November 2003  Lab-on-a-chip advances to
new level  Advances in development of lab-on-chip devices, which
shrink and potentially simplify laboratory tests such as DNA
analysis, have run into very complex roadblocks. Let's face it,
DNA analysis usually requires a laboratory full of instruments
and several days to obtain results.  But now a team of
researchers at Arizona State University has made advances in the
area of microfluidic component design, fabrication, and
integration, bringing the technology to the point where DNA
analysis could be done simply and in significantly less time.
Researchers are borrowing their ideas from what has become the
king of small-scale integration—microelectronic integrated
circuits (IC).   Liu said the advantages of integrated
microfluidic devices include being able to build sophisticated
devices from relatively simple parts, modularity of components,
standardization of microfluidic chips, and the ability to plug
in and unplug specific parts of an overall