Bacterial motility in response to chemicals, also called bacterial chemotaxis, is a critical ability to search for the optimal environment to ensure the survival of bacterial species. Recent advances in microbiology have allowed the engineering of bacterial chemotactic properties. Conventional methods for characterizing bacterial motility are not able to fully monitor chemotactic behavior. Developments in microfluidic technology have enabled the designing of new experimental protocols in which spatiotemporal control of the cellular microenvironment can be achieved, and in which bacterial motility can be precisely and quantitatively measured and compared. This review provides an overview of recent developments of and new insights into microfluidic systems for chemotaxis assay.

细菌对化学物质的运动性，也称为细菌趋化性，是寻找最佳环境以确保细菌物种生存的关键能力。微生物学的最新进展使得细菌趋化特性的工程化成为可能。用于表征细菌运动的常规方法无法完全监测趋化行为。微流体技术的发展使设计新的实验方案成为可能，其中可以实现对细胞微环境的时空控制，并且可以精确定量地测量和比较细菌运动。本综述概述了用于趋化性测定的微流体系统的最新发展和新见解。