Microfluidic technologies hold great promise for use in many industries. In particular, they are well suited to support the manipulation and measurement of microscale quantities of material (e.g., drugs, nanoparticles, and cells) and to conduct large numbers of miniaturized physical, chemical, and biological studies simultaneously. NIST is focused on facilitating reproducibility, improving detection limits, and expanding the measurement capabilities of microfluidic control and sensing technologies.

Research opportunities are available to develop integrated microfluidic and optofluidic lab-on-a-chip devices that advance the measurement of physical, chemical, or biological phenomena in fluids at the macroscale. Application areas include microfluidic cytometry and droplet generation, flow-based (micro)manufacturing, and physical modeling. Impact areas include chemical and material syntheses, environmental monitoring, and medical diagnostic and therapeutic applications.