Field Deployable Microfluidics for Chemical and Biological Threat Readiness: Detection and Countermeasure Screening

Chemical and biological threats, whether from accidental release, industrial exposure, emerging pathogens, or deliberate use, demand tools that can detect a hazard, test protective measures, and contain risk close to where an incident happens. Traditional laboratory pipelines are slow, centralised, and difficult to move into the field. Microfluidic systems offer a route to compact, low volume, and rapid platforms that bring analysis, biology, and safety into a single engineered device.Two branches of the field are now converging. Lab on a chip and micro total analysis systems deliver portable detection and identification of chemical agents, toxins, and pathogens with a sensitivity that once required a fixed laboratory. In parallel, organ on a chip and micro physiological systems reproduce human tissue responses, letting researchers screen medical countermeasures, study toxicity, and probe exposure without animal models. Designing these platforms to be secure from the outset, meaning safe to operate, resistant to contamination, and robust in uncontrolled environments, is the missing link that turns a promising device into deployable capability.This Research Topic brings together engineers, biologists, computational modelers, and defense and public health researchers to advance microfluidic platforms built for threat readiness.Themes of Interest, but not limited to:• Field deployable detection. Lab on a chip and micro total analysis systems for rapid detection and identification of chemical agents, toxins, and biological pathogens at the point of need, including MEMS and silicon microfabrication and integrated biosensing (plasmonic, electrochemical, optical, and machine learning enabled).• Countermeasure screening and toxicity. Organ on a chip and micro-physiological models for screening medical countermeasures, characterizing toxicity, and predicting human response to chemical and biological threat agents.• Predictive modelling and readout. Computational modelling (CFD, PBPK, tissue barrier, and systems biology) and imaging or data analysis that improve device performance, interpretation, and predictive value across both platforms.• Biosafety, containment, and operational readiness. Contamination control, sample containment, and safe operation in resource limited or uncontrolled settings, together with automation, standardization, and readiness for regulatory and operational adoption. Topic editors: Narender Singh, Jamil Akhtar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84204/field-deployable-microfluidics-for-chemical-and-biological-threat-readiness-detection-and-countermeasure-screening