Microchips, microarrays, biochips and nanochips: personal laboratories for the 21st century

Micro miniaturization of analytical procedures is having significant impact on diagnostic testing, and will enable highly complex clinical testing to be miniaturized and permit testing to move from the central laboratory into non-laboratory settings. The diverse range of micro analytical devices includes microchips, gene chips, bioelectronic chips. They have been applied to several clinically important assays (e.g., PCR, immunoassay). The main advantages of the new devices are integration of multiple steps in complex analytical procedures, diversity of application, sub-microliter consumption of reagents and sample, and portability. These devices form the basis of new and smaller analyzers (e.g., capillary electrophoresis) and may ultimately be used in even smaller devices useful in decentralized testing (lab-on-a-chip, personal laboratories). The impact of microchips on healthcare costs could be significant via timely intervention and monitoring, combined with improved treatments (e.g., microchip-based pharmacogenomic tests). Empowerment of health consumers to perform self-testing is limited, but microchips could accelerate this process and so produce a level of self-awareness of biochemical and genetic information hitherto unimaginable. The next level of miniaturization is the nanochip (nanometer-sized features) and the technological foundation for these futuristic devices is discernable in nanotubes and self-assembling molecular structures.