Research advances in centrifugal microfluidics and its applications

Traditional microfluidic chips typically depend on bulky external pumps or power supplies to drive fluid flow, limiting their portability and suitability for field applications. In contrast, centrifugal microfluidic technology harnesses the centrifugal force generated by chip rotation to drive fluid manipulation, enabling automated processes such as valve control, mixing, distribution, and quantification. These capabilities are widely applicable in biochemical analysis and other fields. Centrifugal microfluidic systems are user-friendly, highly automated, and capable of parallel detection, providing sample-to-answer solutions and thus offering a reliable solution for on-site biochemical analysis. This review examines the development, significance of centrifugal microfluidic technology, outlines the basic mechanical principles involved, and categorizes the fluid control functions enabled by this technology. It provides an in-depth analysis of recent advances in application areas such as on-site biochemical analysis (e.g., pathogen detection), material preparation (e.g., nanoparticle synthesis), and separation (e.g., microplastic separation). Finally, it discusses the advantages and limitations of centrifugal microfluidic technology, summarizes the manufacturing technologies of chip and explores future development trends (e.g., biodegradable materials, automated detection and expansion of application fields).