Microfluidic Studies of Biofilm Formation in Dynamic Environments

The advent of microscale technologies, such as microfluidics, has revolutionized many areas of biology yet has only recently begun to impact the field of bacterial biofilms. By enabling accurate control and manipulation of physical and chemical conditions, these new microscale approaches afford the ability to combine important features of natural and artificial microbial habitats, such as fluid flow and ephemeral nutrient sources, with an unprecedented level of flexibility and quantification. Here, we review selected case studies to exemplify this potential, discuss limitations, and suggest that this approach opens new vistas into biofilm research over traditional setups, allowing us to expand our understanding of the formation and consequences of biofilms in a broad range of environments and applications.