Fig. 1

Encapsulation and growth of B. coagulans in microdroplets. a Schematic illustration of droplet generation and off-chip cultivation. The device had a uniform channel depth of 25 μm. Microdroplets were generated in a flow-focusing microfluidic device and collected in an EP tube for incubation at 50 °C for 12 h. b The blueprint and dimensions of the flow-focusing microfluidic chip. All channels had a uniform depth of 25 μm. c A bright-field microscopy image showing the generation of microdroplets. The bacterial suspension flow and oil flow are indicated by white arrows. Scale bar: 100 μm