Microfluidic multiplexing in bioanalyses

The importance of biological assays spans from clinical diagnostics to environmental monitoring. Simultaneous detection of multiple analytes enhances the efficacy of bioassays by providing more data per assay under standardized conditions. Nevertheless, simultaneous handling and assaying of multiple samples, targets, and experimental conditions can be laborious, reagent consuming, and time intensive. Given these demands, microfluidic platforms have emerged over the past two decades as well-suited approaches for multiplexed assays. Microfluidic design supports integration of assay steps and reproducible sample manipulation across large sets of conditions--all relevant to multiplexed assays. Taken together, reduced reagent consumption, faster assay times, and potential for automation stemming from microfluidic assay design are attractive and needed multiplexed assay performance attributes. This review highlights recent advances in multiplexed bioanalyses benefitting from microfluidic integration.