Translational Micro- and Nanofluidic Technologies for Clinical Diagnostics: From Development to Real-World Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Microfluidic and nanofluidic technologies are advancing clinical diagnostics through precise, efficient, and miniaturized analyses, significantly reducing sample/reagent consumption while accelerating assay times via automation—enabling transformative applications in point-of-care testing and low-resource settings. Advances in chip design, materials engineering, and system integration have yielded compact, cost-effective devices with heightened clinical viability. This Special Issue highlights cutting-edge developments in micro/nanofluidic platforms for clinical diagnostics, emphasizing translational applications that bridge laboratory innovation and real-world implementation for biomarker detection including blood typing, tumor marker identification, infectious disease screening, and chronic disease monitoring. Priority will be given to submissions demonstrating 1) translational research with robust clinical validation pathways, 2) high-throughput systems enabling multiplexed biomarker analysis, and 3) integrated point-of-care platforms with minimal hardware dependency—all converging toward enhanced early diagnosis, personalized healthcare, and accessible diagnostics in resource-limited environments.

The objective of this Special Issue is to gather high-quality original research and reviews showcasing micro/nanofluidic innovations with demonstrable clinical translation impact. We foster interdisciplinary collaboration among engineers, chemists, material scientists, biologists, and clinicians to accelerate real-world implementation of these systems in diagnostic workflows. Contributions are particularly encouraged where they advance 1) clinical validation pathways bridging bench-to-bedside gaps, 2) scalable device architectures supporting point-of-care deployment, and 3) regulatory-compliant frameworks ensuring clinical adoption—collectively driving accessible, precision-enhanced diagnostics forward.

We invite submissions to this Special Issue advancing micro/nanofluidic research with clinical translation impact, including but not limited to, the following: chip design/fabrication strategies for clinical biomarker detection (e.g., cancer, infectious diseases); integration of electrochemical/optical biosensing modalities with automated sample preparation; lab-on-a-chip/point-of-care platforms, particularly wearable/portable formats validated in real-world settings; cost-efficient manufacturing processes enabling scaled production; exosome/single-cell analysis systems; and clinical performance evaluation studies. Comprehensive reviews addressing translational challenges—from material integration bottlenecks to regulatory pathways—are equally encouraged to catalyze field-wide advancement in this rapidly evolving domain.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Rui Hu
Guest Editor

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