title: A galinstan expansion femtosyringe for microinjection of eukaryotic organelles and prokaryotes.
abstract: A galinstan expansion femtosyringe enables femtoliter to attoliter samples to be introduced into prokaryotes and subcellular compartments of eukaryotes. The method uses heat-induced expansion of galinstan (a liquid metal alloy of gallium, indium, and tin) within a glass syringe to expel samples through a tip diameter of about 0.1 microm. The narrow tip inflicts less damage than conventional capillaries, and the heat-induced expansion of the galinstan allows fine control over the rate of injection. We demonstrate injection of Lucifer Yellow and Lucifer Yellow-dextran conjugates into cyanobacteria, and into nuclei and chloroplasts of higher organisms. Injection of a plasmid containing the bla gene into the cyanobacterium Phormidium laminosum resulted in transformed ampicillin-resistant cultures. Green fluorescent protein was expressed in attached leaves of tobacco and Vicia faba following injection of DNA containing its gene into individual chloroplasts.
authors.affiliation: Institute of General Botany and Plant Physiology, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Senckenbergstrasse 17, 35390 Giessen, Germany. Michael.Knoblauch@bot1.bio.uni-giessen.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Knoblauch
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Hibberd
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: van Bel
mesh_terms: D000497:Alloys; D000818:Animals; D002736:Chloroplasts; D000458:Cyanobacteria; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells; D007887:Fabaceae; D005708:Gallium; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D007204:Indium; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D008845:Microinjections / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015388:Organelles; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011387:Prokaryotic Cells; D013594:Syringes; D014001:Tin; D014170:Transformation, Genetic; D014981:Xenopus
chemical_list: D000497:Alloys; D019216:Metals, Heavy; C400133:galinstan; D007204:Indium; D014001:Tin; D005708:Gallium