Tiny devices with huge potential! New concepts of chemical synthesis have led to an increasing demand for miniaturization and more complex systems. Microreaction technology is a hot topic as it opens completely new possibilities for chemical engineering, combinatorial chemistry, and biotechnology. Small, inexpensive, independent, and versatile devices ensure many reactions achieve maximum selectivity, minimum waste, minimum investment, a better control of the process, safe manufacture and production on demand - to create a more efficient process. This book outlines the fabrication techniques of microfluidic components, unit operations of micro-chemical engineering and current world-wide activities. Requirements with respect to needs of the chemical industry have been included. Chemists, chemical engineers, biotechnologists, process engineers, microsystem technologists in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry and academia, as well as manufacturers of analytical instruments, will find this book a state-of- the-art review of this extremely interesting and rapidly developing field.

Wolfgang Ehrfeld and Volker Hessel are the authors of Microreactors: New Technology for Modern Chemistry, published by Wiley.