Lab-on-a-chip: emerging analytical platforms for immune-mediated diseases.

Miniaturization of analytical procedures has a significant impact on diagnostic testing since it provides several advantages such as: reduced sample and reagent consumption, shorter analysis time and less sample handling. Lab-on-a-chip (LoC), usually silicon, glass, or silicon-glass, or polymer disposable cartridges, which are produced using techniques inherited from the microelectronics industry, could perform and integrate the operations needed to carry out biochemical analysis through the mechanical realization of a dedicated instrument. Analytical devices based on miniaturized platforms like LoC may provide an important contribution to the diagnosis of high prevalence and rare diseases. In this paper we review some of the uses of Lab-on-a-chip in the clinical diagnostics of immune-mediated diseases and we provide an overview of how specific applications of these technologies could improve and simplify several complex diagnostic procedures.