title: A nanoliter microfluidic serial dilution bioreactor.
abstract: Bacterial culture is a basic technique in both fundamental and applied microbiology. The excessive reagent consumption and laborious maintenance of bulk bioreactors for microbial culture have prompted the development of miniaturized on-chip bioreactors. With the minimal choice of two compartments (N = 2) and discrete time, periodic dilution steps, we realize a microfluidic bioreactor that mimics macroscopic serial dilution transfer culture. This device supports automated, long-term microbial cultures with a nanoliter-scale working volume and real-time monitoring of microbial populations at single-cell resolution. Because of the high surface-to-volume ratio, the device also operates as an effective biofilm-flow reactor to support cogrowth of planktonic and biofilm populations. We expect that such devices will open opportunities in many fields of microbiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Guo-Yue
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yi-Wei
authors.initials: YW
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chih-Chung
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chiang
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University , Hsinchu 30013, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Ya-Tang
authors.initials: YT
authors.lastname: Yang