Microfluidic cultivation enables probiotic growth under thermal stress

An integrated microfluidic platform enables Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus to grow under thermal stress, with adaptation allowing growth at 49 °C after three days.

• Why it matters: Conventional batch cultures cannot precisely control temperature changes across space and time, limiting how well probiotic viability under thermal stress can be preserved and studied.
• What they did: The device uses serial microchambers with independently controlled heating zones to create dynamic thermal profiles as cells travel; growth was tracked at 37 °C and 49 °C, with pH monitored at the chip outlet.
• The result: Biomass accumulated at 37 °C within 48 h in all microchambers, while no growth occurred at 49 °C after 72 h; periodic temperature shifts enabled growth in the last chamber at 49 °C after three days, but off-chip experiments showed no growth.