Revealing polymeric fluids behavior at the microscopic scale

An important concept in future healthcare is the development of devices called “lab on a chip”. These “chips” are injected to fill specifically designed microscopic channels. These channels contain biosensors which detect, for example, specific markers for diseases within the fluid and provide a quick diagnosis. However, an arising issue is the size of the fluid sample injected inside the chip, with tiny volumes down to a billionth of a liter. Due to lack of available technologies, researchers do not yet fully understand how fluids – particularly complex ones of biological origins – behave at such small scales.