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Following the ndings of nature itself, for which the liquid phase has been the essential ground for the emergence of chemical complexity and life, we focus on those processes involving manipulation of liquid phase on the microscale and, in particular, those oering homogeneous and reproducible yield. The last two decades have witnessed an explosive expansion in the understanding of capillary processes; this knowledge has served human creativity and the development of a number of technologies now considered forming a particular eld of uid mechanics: microuidics. In this eld, the intelligent combination of imposed geometries (devices) on small scales, surface tension and bulk forces tuned at precise intensities provides the tools to manipulate matter in an unprecedent way. Here, droplets, bubbles, microcapsules, microbers, etc. become basic building blocks of new functional materials, intelligent ingredients and APIs. While mass productivity pertains functional product manufacturing enough for current human demands, control of the microscopic scale directly inuences product delivery to an individual organism. This review aims to provide a gross mapping of current scientic and technological knowledge in the eld, in the quest for those current tools combining highest productivity with maximal control on the microscale and reproducibility. APIs can be present in many forms: solid dispersions (powders made up of solid particles), suspensions (powders in liquids) of any kind, emulsions (droplets of any size in immiscible liquids), solutions (APIs molecules dispersed in a solvent), etc. Nearly always, a fragmentation process is involved in these forms. The most controllable way to fragment a bulk material involves its reduction to liquid phase (melting or dissolution), fragmenting the liquid phase into droplets by the use of specic tools, and applying a further step to solidify it (freezing or desolvation), if necessary. In general, a high degree of care put into the liquid fragmentation step demands a careful subsequent solidifying step as well, to prevent undesired coalescence. Interestingly, some researchers have successfully proposed the use of electric charges to prevent such coalescence [38]. However, fragmentation involves manipulation tools adapted to the inherent nature of this process: rst, it always stores energy in the form of surface tension, and second, this storage should be as ordered as compatible with the functionality and control sought for, thus minimizing entropy. These demands go against Thermodynamics in many aspects. Therefore, the inventive steps involved in the design of liquid fragmentation tools are much taller than those demanded in subsequent solidifying steps. 9