title: A hybrid microfluidic device for on-demand orientation and multidirectional imaging ofC. elegansorgans and neurons.
abstract: C. elegansis a well-known model organism in biology and neuroscience with a simple cellular (959 cells) and nervous (302 neurons) system and a relatively homologous (40%) genome to humans. Lateral and longitudinal manipulation ofC. elegansto a favorable orientation is important in many applications such as neural and cellular imaging, laser ablation, microinjection, and electrophysiology. In this paper, we describe a micro-electro-fluidic device for on-demand manipulation ofC. elegansand demonstrate its application in imaging of organs and neurons that cannot be visualized efficiently under natural orientation. To achieve this, we have used the electrotaxis technique to longitudinally orient the worm in a microchannel and then insert it into an orientation and imaging channel in which we integrated a rotatable glass capillary for orientation of the worm in any desired direction. The success rates of longitudinal and lateral orientations were 76% and 100%, respectively. We have demonstrated the application of our device in optical and fluorescent imaging of vulva, uterine-vulval cell (uv1), vulB1\2 (adult vulval toroid cells), and ventral nerve cord of wild-type and mutant worms. In comparison to existing methods, the developed technique is capable of orienting the worm at any desired angle and maintaining the orientation while providing access to the worm for potential post-manipulation assays. This versatile tool can be potentially used in various applications such as neurobehavioral imaging, neuronal ablation, microinjection, and electrophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University , Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.
authors.forename: Ramtin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ardeshiri
authors.affiliation: Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute , Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X5, Canada.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mulcahy
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhen
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University , Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.
authors.forename: Pouya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rezai