Micro integrated chemical systems for general use

This chapter provides information on micro and nano-fabrication technologies that have been introduced into chemical and biotechnologies. It also explains molecular and energy transport between multiphase laminar flow in a micro channel. As for chemical synthesis, micro reactors with sub-millimeter-sized micro channels are now eagerly investigated. Though there are some examples of electrokinetically-driven flow control in micro reactors, pressure-driven flow control is more commonly used for micro reactors. The aim is to develop methodology to integrate as many chemical processes as possible on microchips and to make full use of characteristics of micro space. Therefore, pressure-driven flow and developed techniques to operate chemical processing in pressure-driven laminar flow in micro channels are selected and for this microchips made of glass are used. Glass vessels are commonly used in many chemical experiments because of their chemical inertness and optical transparency. In order to realize these micro chemical systems based on multiphase laminar flow, some stabilization techniques for the multiphase flow has been inevitable. A micro channel with guide structures and surface modification to stabilize multiphase flows has been used. The chapter also presents a micro integration methodology, continuous flow chemical processing (CFCP), based on spontaneous motion of molecules in multi-phase laminar flow network in micro channel circuits.