The outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has made the general public aware of the breakthrough technologies which were developed in recent years for state-of-the-art biosensing, and terms such as clinical specificity and sensitivity are now widely understood. The need for reliable point-of-care diagnostic systems has never been felt as evidently as during the last few years. While PCR and other molecular diagnostic methods are now widely available in well-equipped medical structures, there is still need for the development of simpler, smaller, easy to use and lower cost diagnostic tools. Although less prominent, the same requirements apply for analytical-grade chemical sensing systems in environmental monitoring, safety and security.Continuous developments in MEMS technology and microfluidics are key drivers for the miniaturization of lab-grade sensing systems. Micro-technologies and miniaturization allow for designing lightweight and small devices, but other advantages relevant though less obvious: reduced consumption of power and reagents, faster response times, increased sensitivity, reduced environmental footprint, availability of batch production processes for low-cost and disposable devices.