Nanofluidics and Microfluidics: Systems and Applications

As micro and nanofluidic systems emerge from the research phase into a range of commercial and laboratory applications across chemical engineering, energy and biobased applications, this book is the first to provide a full applied introduction to the three critical aspects of system development: theory, fabrication, and applications. The expert contributors come from a range of academic specialisms, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of nanofluidics, and providing insights for readers from a variety of backgrounds. To provide an interdisciplinary readership with the necessary toolkit to work with micro and nanofluidics, the basic theory, fundamentals of microfabrication, advanced fabrication methods, device characterization methods, and detailed examples of applications of nanofluidics devices and systems are provided. Case studies describing fabrication of complex micro- and nanoscale systems help the reader to gain a practical understanding of developing and fabricating such systems. These case studies form a 'workbook' type structure allowing the readers to explore the engineering of microscale and nanoscale fluidic systems before using multi-million dollar facilities for actual implementation. Through the case studies, the authors provide detailed descriptions of current state-of-the-art applications. The book is divided into three sections: fundamental concepts, device and system development, and applications. Emphasis is placed on the different types of micro- and nanofluidic platforms that are developed for the various applications, as well as different approaches to engineering micro-to-nanofluidic interfaces. The resulting work covers the fundamentals, processes and applied challenges of functional engineered nanofluidic systems for a variety of different applications, including discussions of Lab-on-chip, bio-related applications and emerging technologies for energy and environmental engineering . The fundamentals of micro- and nano-fluidic systems and micro- and nano-fabrication techniques provide readers from a variety of academic backgrounds with the understanding required to develop new systems and applications. . Case Studies introduce and illustrate state-of-the-art applications across areas including lab-on-chip, energy and bio-based applications. . Prakash and Yeom provide readers with an essential toolkit to take micro- and nano-fluidic applications out of the research lab and into commercial and laboratory applications.