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Can you write me an introduction for my thesis on what is microfluidics?

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Microfluidics is the manipulation of fluids in micrometer-sized structures or channels. In these microchannels, the behavior of the liquid is significantly different from the macroscale, with surface effects and viscosity playing a dominant role . Microfluidic devices/systems handle small quantities of fluids, typically in the range of microliters or nanoliters, and have found applications in various fields such as biology, biotechnology, medicine, and chemical analysis . These devices offer several advantages, including reduced sample/reagent consumption, lower cost per analysis, enhanced sensitivity and specificity, and increased reliability . Microfluidics has been realized as a branch of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology, with silicon being a commonly used substrate material for fabrication . The applications of microfluidics in pharmaceutical and biochemical fields have gained significant attention, with the potential for automated drug formulation, fast screening, protein crystallization, drug delivery, and many other applications . Overall, microfluidics provides a platform for manipulating drugs, particles, and biological materials in miniaturized fluid volumes, bridging the gap between classical laboratory volumes and microscale volumes common in biology .

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Book Chapter•DOI Introduction to microfluidics Jonathan Cottet, Philippe Renaud - Show less +1 more 01 Jan 2021 2 Citations	Microfluidics is the manipulation of fluids in micrometer-sized structures, where surface effects and viscosity dominate, leading to predictable flows.
Book Chapter•DOI An introduction to microfluidics and their applications 01 Jan 2022	Microfluidics is a rapidly growing field that involves the manipulation of small volumes of fluids on a chip for various applications in biology, biotechnology, and medicine.
Journal Article•DOI Introduction to MEMS and Microfluidics 16 Jun 2023-Advances in mechatronics and mechanical engineering (AMME) book series	Microfluidics refers to fluid flow at a small scale, with applications in chemical and biomedical analysis, providing a total solution from sample utilization to display of analytical results.

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