Ultrasonication on a microfluidic chip to lyse single and multiple Pseudo-nitzschia for marine biotoxin analysis.
We present a microfluidic platform, which provides a simple and efficient means for handling and processing Pseudo-nitzschia, a neurotoxin-producing marine algae. Currently, analyzing the production of such toxins is complicated by multiple environmental factors and high variability among individual Pseudo-nitzschia species. To address this issue, we developed a device that can precisely trap single and multiple cells for subsequent lysis to extract relevant intracellular molecules. Our results show a cell trapping efficiency of up to 96%, which is achieved by hydrodynamic flow focusing. Additionally, complete cell lysis via ultrasonication can be accomplished within a few seconds. This platform can be applied to other algae and non-algae cell types with minimal modification, thus providing a valuable tool for studying biological intracellular mechanisms at the single and multi-cell level.
Biosensor National Special Laboratory, Key Laboratory for Biomedical Engineering of Ministry of Education, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
Chunsheng
C
Wu
Peter B
PB
Lillehoj
Leyla
L
Sabet
Ping
P
Wang
Chih-Ming
CM
Ho
D017377:Diatoms / Q000737:chemistry*; D057446:Hydrodynamics; D044085:Microfluidics / Q000379:methods*; D009498:Neurotoxins / Q000032:analysis*; D014465:Ultrasonics
D009498:Neurotoxins