Editorial on “Present state of microchip electrophoresis: State of the art and routine applications” by Eric R. Castro and Andreas Manz

Micro total analytical systems (μTAS) (also known as Lab-on-a-Chip, LOC) were introduced about 25 years ago and since that time there has been a wide variety of implementations of this concept. The fundamental idea is to create an analysis system using microfluidics, preferably with all components of the analysis including sample preparation, sample enrichment, separation of analytes where required, and detection being incorporated onto the same microchip. In this way, the total analysis can be undertaken with the μTAS device.