The present invention relates to a monolith for processing fluid samples, and methods of making and using the monolith. The monolith can contain certain monomers or combinations of monomers that can be polymerized to give a polymeric monolith that can efficiently self-wick fluid. The self-wicking polymeric monolith can be used as a convenient tool for point of care/on site diagnostics and analytics. The monolith is easily stored and transported, comparatively cost-efficient to make, permits good detection of analyte molecules and is readily functionalizable by impregnation of and/or covalently grafting additional chemical moieties to either the whole monolith or in zones.