Microfluidics to Meet Antibiotic Resistance: A Growing Research Frontier

Antimicrobial resistance remains one of the most urgent challenges in modern medicine, demanding innovative research tools for understanding and combating bacterial adaptation. Microfluidic technologies enable precise control over experimental conditions, single-cell resolution, and high-throughput analysis, offering unique advantages over traditional microbiological methods. This review summarizes recent (2020-2025) developments in the application of microfluidics to antibiotic resistance research, emphasizing approaches used in fundamental studies rather than diagnostic implementations. The discussed technologies are grouped according to their primary research focus: (i) microfluidic cultivation and screening of antibiotic-producing microorganisms; (ii) tools for antibiotic screening and mechanistic studies, and (iii) models for studying microbial stress responses and resistance development. Collectively, these approaches provide unprecedented insight into antibiotic action, resistance evolution, and microbial physiology. Continued development and integration of microfluidics with complementary analytical tools will further accelerate the discovery of novel antimicrobials and rational design of combination therapies, ultimately bridging the gap between fundamental microbiology and translational applications in antimicrobial resistance research.