Microfabricated reaction and separation systems

Over the past year there have been a number of recent advances in the field s of miniaturized reaction and separation systems, including the constructi on of fully integrated 'lab-on-a-chip' systems. Microreactors, which initia lly targeted DNA-based reactions such as the polymerase chain reaction, are now used in several other chemical and biochemical assays. Miniaturized se paration columns are currently employed for analyzing a wide variety of sam ples including DNA, RNA, proteins and cells. Although significant advances have been made at the component level, the realization of an integrated ana lysis system still remains at the early stages of development.