Digital microfluidics as an emerging tool for bacterial protocols

Bacteria are widely studied in various research areas, including synthetic biology, sequencing and diagnostic test-ing. Protocols involving bacteria are often multistep, cumbersome and require access to a long list of instruments to perform experiments. In order to streamline these processes, the fluid handling technique digital microfluidics (DMF) has provided a miniaturized platform to perform various steps of bacterial protocols from sample prepara-tion to analysis. DMF devices can be paired/interfaced with instrumentation such as microscopes, plate readers, and incubators, demonstrating their versatility with existing research tools. Alternatively, DMF instruments can be integrated into all-in-one packages with on-chip magnetic separation for sample preparation, heating/cooling modules to perform assay steps and cameras for absorbance and/or fluorescence measurements. This perspec-tive outlines the beneficial features DMF offers to bacterial protocols, highlights limitations of current work and proposes future directions for this tool's expansion in the field.

Automated summary

Bacteria play important roles in synthetic biology, sequencing, and diagnostic testing, but the experimental protocols involving bacteria are often complex and require numerous instruments. Digital microfluidics (DMF) offers a miniaturized platform to simplify the processes of bacterial protocols, from sample preparation to analysis. DMF devices can be used in conjunction with existing research tools or integrated into all-in-one packages, providing versatility and convenience. This perspective discusses the benefits, limitations, and potential future directions of DMF in bacterial studies.