Exploring the deep blue: Recent advances in microfluidics for marine microbiology

The ocean, a blue dreamland, harbors endless romance, and mystery. Microfluidic technology, as an innovative approach, enables precise control and manipulation of microscale fluids by regulating the flow patterns and structures within micrometer-sized channels. It offers a new perspective and solutions for microbiological analysis. This paper presents a comprehensive review of microfluidic chip technology in the field of marine microbiological analysis, encompassing micro-organism capture, isolation and enrichment, microbial cultivation, fluorescence detection techniques, single-cell microfluidic impedance cytometry, polymerase chain reaction amplification, gene sequencing technologies, and the application of microfluidic technology in marine microbial sensing. The challenges currently faced and future prospects are also discussed. We believe this review will promote research in microfluidics within the microbial domain, providing valuable insights for researchers in this field.