A cost-effective fluorescence mini-microscope for biomedical applications.
We have designed and fabricated a miniature microscope from off-the-shelf components and a webcam, with built-in fluorescence capability for biomedical applications. The mini-microscope was able to detect both biochemical parameters, such as cell/tissue viability (e.g. live/dead assay), and biophysical properties of the microenvironment such as oxygen levels in microfabricated tissues based on an oxygen-sensitive fluorescent dye. This mini-microscope has adjustable magnifications from 8-60×, achieves a resolution as high as <2 μm, and possesses a long working distance of 4.5 mm (at a magnification of 8×). The mini-microscope was able to chronologically monitor cell migration and analyze beating of microfluidic liver and cardiac bioreactors in real time, respectively. The mini-microscope system is cheap, and its modularity allows convenient integration with a wide variety of pre-existing platforms including, but not limited to, cell culture plates, microfluidic devices, and organs-on-a-chip systems. Therefore, we envision its widespread application in cell biology, tissue engineering, biosensing, microfluidics, and organs-on-chips, which can potentially replace conventional bench-top microscopy where long-term in situ and large-scale imaging/analysis is required.
Biomaterials Innovation Research Center, Division of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. alik@rics.bwh.harvard.edu.
Yu Shrike
YS
Zhang
João
J
Ribas
Akhtar
A
Nadhman
Julio
J
Aleman
Šeila
Š
Selimović
Sasha Cai
SC
Lesher-Perez
Ting
T
Wang
Vijayan
V
Manoharan
Su-Ryon
SR
Shin
Alessia
A
Damilano
Nasim
N
Annabi
Mehmet Remzi
MR
Dokmeci
Shuichi
S
Takayama
Ali
A
Khademhosseini
D000818:Animals; D002465:Cell Movement; D005456:Fluorescent Dyes / Q000737:chemistry*; D056945:Hep G2 Cells; D006801:Humans; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D051379:Mice; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D041681:NIH 3T3 Cells; D010100:Oxygen / Q000378:metabolism*
D005456:Fluorescent Dyes; D010100:Oxygen