High-throughput screening of microbial strains in large-scale microfluidic droplets.

The transformation of engineered microbial cells is a pivotal link in green biomanufacturing. Its distinctive research application involves genetic modification of microbial chassis to impart targeted traits and functions for effective synthesis of the desired products. Microfluidics, as an emerging complementary solution, focuses on controlling and manipulating fluid in channels at the microscopic scale. One of its subcategories is droplet-based microfluidics (DMF), which can generate discrete droplets using immiscible multiphase fluids at kHz frequencies. To date, droplet microfluidics has been successfully applied to a variety of microbes, including bacteria, yeast, and filamentous fungi, and the detection of massive metabolites of strain products, such as polypeptides, enzymes, and lipids, has been realized. In summary, we firmly believe that droplet microfluidics has evolved into a powerful technology that will pave the way for high-throughput screening of engineered microbial strains in the green biomanufacturing industry.