Now that the hype has blown over, will microfluidics live up to its promise of providing marketable applications? "One could argue that miniaturized chemical analysis systems are just a fashionable craze. However, it is difficult to foresee the impact a new technological concept will have, when it is in its early stages of development."-Andreas Manz and colleagues (Chimia 1991, 45, 103-105). Pessimism and optimism walk hand in hand in the field of microfluidics. Some experts feel that the research endeavor is in danger of falling into a rut. Andreas Manz, currently at the University of Freiburg (Germany), feels a twinge of disappointment with the current state of affairs. He had bought into the hope carried by the first wave of patents, scientific publications, and start-up companies that occurred before 2000. But now he thinks, "It's very well possible that microfluidics will end up in a never-ending cycle where it eventually reaches a steady state, just running through all kinds of [academic] applications or all sorts of technical innovations with no major outlet."
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