  Bacterial biofilms are among the oldest and most prevalent multicellular life
forms on Earth and are increasingly relevant in research areas related to
industrial fouling, medicine and biotechnology. The main hurdles to obtaining
definitive experimental results include time-varying biofilm properties,
structural and chemical heterogeneity, and especially their strong sensitivity
to environmental cues. Therefore, in addition to judicious choice of
measurement tools, a well-designed biofilm study requires strict control over
experimental conditions, more so than most chemical studies. Due to excellent
control over a host of physiochemical parameters, microfluidic flow cells have
become indispensable in microbiological studies. Not surprisingly, the number
of lab-on-chip studies focusing on biofilms and other microbiological systems
with expanded analytical capabilities has expanded rapidly in the past decade.
In this paper, we comprehensively review the current state of microfluidic
bioanalytical research applied to bacterial biofilms and offer a perspective on
new approaches that are expected to drive continued advances in this field.
