Microfluidics and Nanofluidics

Microfluidics and nanofluidics concern the precise control and manipulation of very small fluid volumes in channels and structures with dimensions from micrometres down to nanometres. At these scales, laminar flow predominates and transport is governed by a balance of viscous, capillary and surface forces rather than inertia. Microfluidic platforms encompass continuous‐flow and droplet‐based reactors, lab‐on‐a‐chip arrays and open‐channel devices, enabling integration of mixing, separation, reaction and detection in a single footprint. Nanofluidic systems extend these concepts to pore sizes below 100 nm, where electric double‐layer effects, molecular confinement and ion transport become central. Together, these disciplines underpin high‐throughput screening, point‐of‐care diagnostics, materials synthesis and energy‐related processes by reducing reagent consumption, accelerating reaction times and offering unparalleled fluidic control.

Research from Nature Portfolio

A new machine‐learning framework has been introduced to automate the design of microfluidic devices for single and double emulsion generation. By training on a comprehensive database of channel geometries, fluid properties and flow ratios, the tool predicts device dimensions and operating pressures required to produce droplets from 15 µm to 250 µm diameter at rates up to 12 000 Hz. Blind tests with novel fluids demonstrate droplet sizes within 8 % of targets, streamlining device development for custom assays in life sciences.

An innovative under‐oil open microfluidic system integrates a semi‐transparent silicon nanolayer and Raman spectroscopy for in situ characterisation of multi‐phase chemical reactions. The platform exploits liquid–liquid boundaries without enclosed channels, avoiding clogging and enabling direct optical access. It has been validated for gas–liquid and liquid–liquid processes, capturing gas evolution and reaction kinetics in real time while minimising background noise, opening routes for label‐free molecular sensing in environmental and biochemical applications.

Microfluidics and Nanofluidics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in microfluidics and nanofluidics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Microfluidics: The manipulation of small volumes (microlitre to picolitre) of fluids within networks of channels 1–100 µm in size.

Nanofluidics: Fluid transport and phenomena in channels or pores below ~100 nm, where surface‐charge and molecular confinement dominate.

Droplet microfluidics: Generation and control of discrete droplets in an immiscible carrier fluid to form isolated reaction vessels.

Emulsion droplet: A droplet of one liquid dispersed within another immiscible liquid, stabilised by surfactants.

Picolitre compartment: A reaction volume of ~10⁻¹² litres, used to minimise reagent consumption and maximise throughput.

High-throughput screening: Rapid evaluation of large libraries of samples or variants, often using automated microfluidic platforms.

References

1. Design automation of microfluidic single and double emulsion droplets with machine learning. Nature Communications (2024).
2. Visualization-enhanced under-oil open microfluidic system for in situ characterization of multi-phase chemical reactions. Nature Communications (2024).
3. Ultrahigh-Throughput Enzyme Engineering and Discovery in In Vitro Compartments. Chemical Reviews (2023).
4. High-throughput microfluidic production of carbon capture microcapsules: fundamentals, applications, and perspectives. International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing (2024).
5. Basic Principles of Microfluidics.