FOR 516: Physical and Chemical Basis, Components and Systems for the Lab-on-Microchip Technology

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Reducing the dimensions of electronic building blocks to a fraction of a micrometer has brought integrated electronics to a tremendous success in the last two decades and made today¿s computers possible. Since today¿s high-tech microscopes can observe and identify individual molecules and new nanostructured chips allow to control the flow of liquids through capillaries with only a few micrometers in diameter, it is possible in principle to integrate a whole chemical laboratory on a microchip. Our interdisciplinary group of researchers is working towards this goal using state-of-the-art micro- and nanotechnology, laser techniques and chip fabrication.Within the project, researchers from chemistry, mechanical and electrical engineering are organized in the Center for Micro- and Nanochemistry & Engineering of the University of Siegen. The centre cooperates in this project with the Max-Planck-Institut for Polymer Research and the Institute for Microtechnology Mainz.In the first three years the basis of physical and chemical processes in microscopically small vessels and confined areas with dimensions in the micrometer and submicrometer range are subject of the research. In the following steps passive and active components are to be developed, manufactured and implemented for the controlling and analysis of chemical reactions on a microchip. Large fields of application for the Lab-on-Microchip technology arise for example from medicine, biochemistry, environmental technology and in automotive manufacturing.