Micro Total Analysis Systems 2001

The proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems documents the exciting progress being made in this field of research and the continuing success of the conference series. The previous meetings have shown nearly 100% growth in abstract submissions and the fifth of the series continues this trend with nearly 400 abstracts submitted. Simultaneously the quality of the papers in this meeting remains high, as demonstrated in this publication. A broad array of topics is covered in this volume, as would be anticipated for such a highly multidisciplinary field as represented by muTotal Analysis Systems or Lab-on-a-Chip technology, the terms most commonly used to describe microfabricated devices for performing chemical and biochemical experimentation. The field remains heavily focused on microfluidic systems with only a few exceptions addressing gas phase studies. Device and system developments that address measurement problems associated with biotechnology continue to be an emphasis. The profile of electrokinetic-based separation devices for the analysis of DNA and proteins remains high and the interest in devices for cellular analysis is showing considerable growth. Further development of components and strategies for fluid transport, mixing, and dispensing are highlighted. Detection technologies that specifically address quantification issues in chemical and biochemical microsystems became a new emphasis for this meeting. Several new optical detection techniques relevant to microfluid systems are illustrated and microscale versions of NMR probes and mass spectrometers are discussed. New areas of development that are potentially emerging are nanofluidics- and microfluidics-based chemical synthesis. Clearly the field of miniaturized chemical and biochemical analysis systems is vibrant and continues to rapidly grow in depth, breadth, and maturity. §This volume contains the proceedings of the Fifth International Conference on Miniaturized Chemical and Biochemical Analysis Systems (&mgr;TAS 2001), held in Monterey, California, on October 21&endash;25, 2001. The collection of papers included in the proceedings represents the current state of the art in microsystems for chemical and biochemical experimentation. These proceedings will be a valuable tool for those wanting to become knowledgeable in an exciting field that may well change the way experimental problems in chemistry and biology are approached in the future.