Progress in the Detection of Gut Microbiota Based on Microfluidic Technolog (1/2026)

This cover image highlights microfluidic technology for gut microbiota detection. At its center, a transparent microfluidic chip with interlaced branched microchannels shows fluid transport and reaction of intestinal microbial samples, which reflects the core principle of precise microbiota processing via microscale fluid manipulation and embodies the technique’s advantages of low reagent consumption and high efficiency. Behind the chip, a fluorescent intestinal structure hosts microbial particles of diverse morphologies and colors. This recreates the intestine as a microbial niche, symbolizes gut microbiota diversity, and aligns with the goal of detecting its composition, structure, and functions. A deep blue-purple background with tech light trails merges microscale biology and engineering—the key interdisciplinary integration of this review. This integration bridges life sciences and engineering, enabling innovative analytical approaches while underscoring the review’s microscale exploration of gut microbiota. It further distills the logic of technical application: using the chip to analyze microbiota-host interactions, thereby advancing intestinal disease diagnosis and treatment through such interdisciplinary innovation.