Developments In The Microfabrication Of Biochips Using Laser Micromachining

Biochips are miniaturised devices designed to carry out a broad range of biotechnological processes and can be divided into two categories. The first are the microarray biochips which are typically two dimensional surfaces containing defined regions of attached biomolecules for undertaking parallel chemical detection measurements on specimens. In these devices chemicals or chemical groups within the specimen react with biomolecules in specific regions within the biochip. The results of these reactions are measured, typically using optical techniques, to quantify the amount of each chemical within the specimen. Microarray biochips are currently being exploited for carrying out many routine biological tests ranging from allergy, infection and drugs of abuse detection, through to complete genome measurements on a single chip. Microfluidic biochips form the secon