20 years of microfluidics – hope on deliverance?

Almost 20 years after the introduction of the concept of the "miniaturized total chemical analysis system (µTAS)" and about 10 years after the gold digger's frenzy about how this technology would revolutionize all aspects of chemical, biochemical or diagnostic analyses, it is worth to have a look how his technology has matured. It is my firm belief that we see a significant part of the early day's promises being fulfilled and a rapidly growing range of applications and products. A review on roadblocks as well as success factors for the commercialization of microfluidic devices will be given as well as an overview on commercially available manufacturing routes with their specific application to microfluidics. Several examples of products and their development characteristics will be presented.