The Eighth International Conference on Miniaturized Systems in Chemistry
and Life Science - MicroTas 2004 - is an annual meeting focusing on the
research, development and application of miniaturized technologies and
methodologies in chemistry and life science. The conference is
celebrating its tenth anniversary after the first workshop at the
University of Twente, The Netherlands in 1994. This research field is
rapidly developing and changing towards a domain where core competence
areas such as microfluidics, micro- and nanotechnology, materials
science, chemistry, biology, and medicine are melting together to a
truly interdisciplinary meeting place. This volume is the first in a two
volume set, a valuable reference collection to all working in this
field.