Abstract：
Biofilms are multicellular communities held together by a self-produced extracellular matrix and exhibit a set of properties that distinguish them from free-living bacteria. Biofilms are exposed to a variety of mechanical and chemical cues resulting from fluid motion and mass transport. Microfluidics provides the precise control of hydrodynamic and physicochemical microenvironments to study biofilms in general. In this review, we summarize the recent progress made in microfluidics-based biofilm research, including understanding the mechanism of bacterial adhesion and biofilm development, assessment of antifouling and antimicrobial properties, development of advanced in vitro infection models, and advancement in methods to characterize biofilms. Finally, we provide a perspective on the future direction of microfluidics-assisted biofilm research.
摘要：
生物膜是由自身产生的细胞外基质保持在一起的多细胞群落，并表现出一系列将它们与自由生活的细菌区分开的特性。生物膜暴露于由流体运动和质量传输产生的各种机械和化学线索。微流体提供了流体动力学和物理化学微环境的精确控制，以研究一般的生物膜。在这次审查中,我们总结了基于微流体的生物膜研究的最新进展，包括了解细菌粘附和生物膜发育的机制，防污和抗菌性能的评估，先进的体外感染模型的发展，以及表征生物膜的方法的进步。最后,我们对微流体辅助生物膜研究的未来方向提供了展望。
