AbstractAs the microelectronic revolution changed the way how electronic components and circuits were manufactured 50 years ago, leading to an explosive growth in the applications of integrated circuits and a birth of new industries, a similar development can be seen with the introduction of miniaturization in the Life Sciences. In this article, I will limit the discussion of microfluidics to the area which was the scope of the initial concept called “miniaturized total analysis system” (μ‐TAS), also called “Lab‐on‐a‐Chip”. This technology deals with the handling and manipulation of minuscule amounts of liquid in the Life Sciences and was introduced about 20 years ago.