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REVIEW article

Front. Lab. Chip. Technol.
Sec. Medical Diagnostics
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/frlct.2025.1502127
This article is part of the Research Topic Lab-on-a-Chip for Point of Care and diagnostic kit(s): The new frontiers and evolution with a focus on pre and post pandemic world View all articles

Capillary Microfluidics for Diagnostic Applications: Fundamentals, Mechanisms, and Capillarics

Provisionally accepted
Elham Khanjani Elham Khanjani 1Andrea Fergola Andrea Fergola 2Joan Antoni López Martínez Joan Antoni López Martínez 3Jasmina Casals-Terré Jasmina Casals-Terré 3*Simin Nazarnezhad Simin Nazarnezhad 4,5Simone Luigi Marasso Simone Luigi Marasso 6,7*Behrouz Aghajanloo Behrouz Aghajanloo 8*
  • 1 Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
  • 2 Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Piedmont, Italy
  • 3 Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
  • 4 Metabolic Syndrome Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
  • 5 Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad university of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
  • 6 Department of Applied Science and Technology, Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, Piedmont, Italy
  • 7 Institute of Materials for Electronics and Magnetism National Research Council, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
  • 8 School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Microfluidic systems, especially those using capillary forces, have recently attracted considerable interest due to their potential to facilitate passive fluid management in portable diagnostic devices and point-of-care settings. These systems utilize capillary forces to autonomously regulate fluid flow, eliminating the requirement for external power and providing a more straightforward and economical option compared to active microfluidic systems. This review examines the fundamental concepts of capillary-driven microfluidics, emphasizing significant progress in the design of capillary pumps and valves, as well as the influence of surface tension, wettability, and the geometrical configurations of microchannels on the enhancement of fluid dynamics. Furthermore, the review explores other configurations, such as porous and solid substrates, to illustrate their potential for healthcare and biochemical applications. Moreover, the challenges related to managing flow rates and enhancing the reproducibility of devices are addressed, alongside recent innovations designed to overcome these challenges. Capillary systems offer an effective and reliable foundation for developing miniaturized diagnostic instruments, which hold significant potential across various domains, including biological research and environmental monitoring.

    Keywords: Microfluidics, Capillary valves, Capillary pumps, Biochemical assays, POC diagnostics

    Received: 26 Sep 2024; Accepted: 08 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Khanjani, Fergola, López Martínez, Casals-Terré, Nazarnezhad, Marasso and Aghajanloo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Jasmina Casals-Terré, Universitat Politecnica de Catalunya, Barcelona, 08034, Catalonia, Spain
    Simone Luigi Marasso, Department of Applied Science and Technology, Polytechnic University of Turin, Turin, 10129, Piedmont, Italy
    Behrouz Aghajanloo, School of Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, 2109, New South Wales, Australia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.