Micro-/nanofluidic Computing and Its Applications to Biomedicine

We have recently begun investigation of a non-silicon based new computing paradigm called "micro/nanofluidic computing" where basic computing elements such as logic gates may be incorporated into very small scale devices. The two key aspects of micro-/nanofluidics are the extremely small amount of materials processed and the relatively fast processing time. Because of these characteristics, micro-/nanofluidics is envisioned to have significant application potential in many areas including biomedicine and computation. With these advantages, micro-/nanofluidic computing is not intended to replace traditional siliconchip computers because its speed is orders of magnitude slower. Rather, it is envisioned to enable nanofluidic technology by directly incorporating computing functions. Here, the current state and our recent work in micro/nanofluidic computing are introduced. In addition, advantages and potential applications specific to biomedicine are discussed.