Exploring the deep blue: Recent advances in microfluidics for marine microbiology.

This article provides a comprehensive review of microfluidic chip technology and its applications in marine microbiological analysis and sensing. It covers core techniques such as microbial capture, separation, enrichment, cultivation, fluorescence detection, single-cell microfluidic impedance cytometry, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification, and gene sequencing, highlighting their roles in monitoring harmful algal blooms, preventing biological invasions, and in situ deep-sea microbial community analysis. The review discusses the advantages of microfluidic chips—including miniaturization, low cost, and high sensitivity—while addressing current challenges like device durability in harsh marine environments and cell capture efficiency in single-cell sequencing. It also explores future prospects, including integration with artificial intelligence for data analysis, applications in offshore infrastructure monitoring, and potential use in extraterrestrial life detection.