Mikroanalyser

Mikroanalyser is a compact analytical instrument designed to carry out qualitative and quantitative analysis on very small samples or in portable settings. It typically integrates microfabricated components, microfluidic sample handling, and a miniaturized detector system to perform measurements that would normally require larger laboratory equipment.

Most mikroanalysers rely on one or more detection strategies: electrochemical detection (amperometric, potentiometric), optical methods (absorbance, fluorescence, Raman), or mass-sensitive detection in micro- or nano-scale form. The devices often employ microfluidic channels to deliver sample and reagents, microelectrodes for sensing, and compact optics or electronics for readout.

Applications span environmental monitoring, clinical and point-of-care diagnostics, food safety, pharmaceutical process control, and research where rapid, low-volume analysis is advantageous. They are commonly used for on-site testing, process monitoring, and situations requiring reduced power and reagent consumption.

Advantages include small sample and reagent requirements, lower cost in high volumes, portability, and the potential for parallel analysis on a single chip. Limitations can include lower sensitivity or dynamic range compared with benchtop instruments, calibration challenges, potential interference from complex matrices, and durability concerns in field use.

The concept emerged with the broader field of lab-on-a-chip and MEMS technologies in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, as researchers sought to miniaturize analytical workflows. The term mikroanalyser is used in some languages to denote miniature analyzers; in English-language literature the terms microanalyser, microanalyzer, or lab-on-a-chip device are more common. See also lab-on-a-chip, MEMS, microfluidics, analytical chemistry, and spectroscopy.