Is dialysis alive as a membrane-based separation technique?

We give an overview of the contribution of dialysis to current analytical laboratories in order to assess its capabilities as a sensitive (in some modes) and, particularly, as a selective technique for isolating target compounds from complex samples. We also describe dialysis membranes and basic dialyzers and their integration into continuous manifolds as a starting point for new designs. We discuss some old applications, but particularly focus on recent contributions of the different types of dialysis, with special emphasis on those involving continuous systems that provide high added-value features. Finally, we outline dialysis alternatives that mean we can predict that this membrane-based separation technique will have a long life.