Novel Insights into Microbial Behavior Gleaned Using Microfluidics

Abstract

Microorganisms develop into communities in nearly every environmental niche, which is typically replete with micrometer-scale gaps and features. In each of these habitats, microorganisms adapt to and are affected by their physical environment. Conventional culture methods use glass bottom dishes or millimeter-scale flow cells, which poorly mimic the complexity of natural micrometer-scale environments; therefore, the limitations associated with the creation of microbe-scale environments with granularity hinder the ability to examine their ecological behavior. Microfluidics is a tool that is increasingly being used to study microorganisms because it enables the manipulation of micrometer-scale flows while simultaneously facilitating real-time and live-cell imaging. In this review, we discuss several insights into the behavior of bacteria and fungi that were gained through the adoption of microfluidics to control complex micrometer-scale environments. We also discuss the potential of the increased adoption of this tool.

A Multilayered Imaging and Microfluidics Approach for Evaluating the Effect of Fibrinolysis in Staphylococcus aureus Biofilm Formation

“…Moreover, the use of geometrical confinement in microfluidic channels has yielded valuable insights into the behavior of microbes at the single-cell level [ 39 ]. Studies based on different microfluidics tools are essential in deepening our understanding of biofilm formation and potential strategies for their management [ 40 ].…”