Centrifugal Microfluidics for Biomedical Applications

Centrifugal microfluidics harnesses rotational forces to propel and manipulate minute liquid volumes on a compact, disc-shaped platform. By spinning a laminated or moulded disc, sample and reagent metering, mixing, valving and separation can be executed without external pumps or complex tubing. This self-contained ‘lab-on-a-disc’ format offers inherent bubble removal, density-based separation of blood components and scalable throughput, enabling rapid assays for nucleic acid amplification, immunodiagnostics and cell-based analyses. Integration of timed valving, pneumatic siphons and thermopneumatic actuation has yielded fully automated workflows for point-of-care testing in both well-equipped laboratories and resource-limited settings. Recent advances feature wireless detection modules for real-time chemiluminescence, embedded biosensors for continuous monitoring and process-chain architectures that link multiple unit operations into a single run. Such platforms have been deployed for multiplexed PCR, leukocyte isolation, serological assays and environmental monitoring. Their low reagent consumption, disposability and potential for mass manufacture by injection moulding or thermoforming make them globally significant for decentralised healthcare, outbreak response and high-throughput screening. Ongoing challenges include standardising disc formats, integrating reagent storage, ensuring robust data transmission and simplifying user interfaces. Continued interdisciplinary collaboration promises to extend centrifugal microfluidics into digital assays, machine-learning-driven optimisation and fully self-sufficient diagnostic modules.

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Centrifugal Microfluidics for Biomedical Applications publication trend

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

Technical terms

Centrifugal microfluidics: A microfluidic approach using rotational forces to drive fluid motion and perform assay steps on a disc-shaped platform without external pumps.

Lab-on-a-disc (LoaD): An integrated, disc-based device that automates sample preparation, reagent handling and detection by combining multiple microfluidic unit operations under centrifugal actuation.

Valving: Controlled opening or closing of fluid pathways on a rotating disc, achieved by structural features or phase-change materials to direct flow at specified spin rates or temperatures.

Aliquoting: Precise splitting of a liquid volume into defined sub-volumes on the disc, enabling parallel assays or sequential reagent combination with high reproducibility.

Process chain: A sequence of interconnected microfluidic unit operations on a single disc that automates complex laboratory workflows from sample input to final detection.

References

1. A Review of Biomedical Centrifugal Microfluidic Platforms. Micromachines (2016).
2. CD-Based Microfluidics for Primary Care in Extreme Point-of-Care Settings. Micromachines (2016).
3. Centrifugal microfluidic platforms: advanced unit operations and applications. Chemical Society Reviews (2015).
4. A microfluidic timer for timed valving and pumping in centrifugal microfluidics. Lab on a Chip (2015).
5. Density-Gradient Mediated Band Extraction of Leukocytes from Whole Blood Using Centrifugo-Pneumatic Siphon Valving on Centrifugal Microfluidic Discs. PLOS ONE (2016).
6. Vacuum/Compression Valving (VCV) Using Parrafin-Wax on a Centrifugal Microfluidic CD Platform. PLOS ONE (2013).
7. Centrifugo-thermopneumatic fluid control for valving and aliquoting applied to multiplex real-time PCR on off-the-shelf centrifugal thermocycler. RSC Advances (2015).
8. Fully automated chemiluminescence detection using an electrified-Lab-on-a-Disc (eLoaD) platform. Lab on a Chip (2016).
9. Biosensing on the Centrifugal Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Disc Platform. Processes (2020).
10. Challenges in the Use of Compact Disc-Based Centrifugal Microfluidics for Healthcare Diagnostics at the Extreme Point of Care. Micromachines (2016).
11. Centrifugo-pneumatic multi-liquid aliquoting – parallel aliquoting and combination of multiple liquids in centrifugal microfluidics. Lab on a Chip (2015).