Microfluidic Chip for Culturing Gene-Edited Bacteria

By utilizing a low-cost engineering tool, we have created a microfluidic platform to study bacteria at the single cell level, allowing us to unlock insights into microbial physiology and genetics that would otherwise not be possible. The platform is composed of 3D devices made of adhesive tapes, an agarose membrane as the resting substrate, a temperature-controlled environmental chamber, and an autofocusing module. With this technology, we have been able to observe Escherichia coli morphological changes during ampicillin exposure and measure the minimum inhibitory concentration of the antibiotic. Additionally, we have been able to use CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) to evaluate gene regulation in a concentration gradient. Overall, our microfluidic platform provides a powerful, low-cost tool to uncover new genetic determinants of antibiotic susceptibility and assess the long-term effectiveness of antibiotics in bacterial cultures.