microfluidics

American  

[mahy-kroh-floo-id-iks] / ˌmaɪ kroʊ fluˈɪd ɪks /

noun

1. the science of the behavior of fluids at very small volumes or flowing in very small channels typically measured in tens of micrometers, as in microminiaturized devices: used in many technologies, including those involved in DNA analysis, immunoassays, chemical synthesis, and optics.

   With recent advances in microfluidics and on-demand drug manufacturing, your pharmacist could soon be tailoring your prescription to the exact dose and formulation you need.

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Etymology

Origin of microfluidics

First recorded in 1995–2000; micro- ( def. ) + fluidics ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

microfluidics

The company is still working on liquid-based cooling ideas, including microfluidics, where tiny channels of liquid flow through the many layers of a silicon chip.

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025

They also created a low-cost, printed circuit board with built-in digital microfluidics, which the emitter is soldered to.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2024

They hired Song, a mechanical engineer who had focused on microfluidics in his graduate work; and Zaferani, a biophysicist who had studied the cues that help mammalian sperm cells navigate toward an egg.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 25, 2024

We passed one machine that uses microfluidics technology to mix reagents and cells and another that uses mass spectrometry to rapidly analyze the chemical composition of liquids.

From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021

Abate is a physicist at the University of California, San Francisco, who builds tools known as microfluidics devices, which are used to miniaturize the work and form a parallel with biological experiments.

From Nature ● May 21, 2018