Chinese researchers have created an artificial intelligence-driven platform that dramatically speeds up the selection of high-performance microbial clones — a breakthrough with wide applications in medicine, bioengineering, and industrial production.

The system, called the Digital Colony Picker (DCP), was developed by a research team from the Qingdao Institute of Bioenergy and Bioprocess Technology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, according to a recent study published in Nature Communications. The DCP transforms what was once a slow and labor-intensive process into a highly automated, efficient workflow.

The DCP features a microfluidic chip containing 16,000 addressable microchambers that can isolate individual cells and track their growth into micro-colonies. Its built-in AI engine conducts real-time, time-lapse analysis of brightfield and biosensor signals to measure both growth kinetics and metabolite production.

Once target colonies are identified, the system uses a laser-induced bubble technique to export them as droplets directly into standard culture plates. This contact-free transfer method minimizes cross-contamination and helps maintain cell viability, offering a powerful new tool for accelerating microbial screening and strain optimization across multiple industries.