title: C. elegans-on-a-chip for in situ and in vivo Ag nanoparticles' uptake and toxicity assay.
abstract: Nanomaterials are extensively used in consumer products and medical applications, but little is known about their environmental and biological toxicities. Moreover, the toxicity analysis requires sophisticated instruments and labor-intensive experiments. Here we report a microfluidic chip incorporated with the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans that rapidly displays the changes in body growth and gene expression specifically responsive to the silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). C. elegans were cultured in microfluidic chambers in the presence or absence of AgNPs and were consequently transferred to wedge-shaped channels, which immobilized the animals, allowing the evaluation of parameters such as length, moving distance, and fluorescence from the reporter gene. The AgNPs reduced the length of C. elegans body, which was easily identified in the channel of chip. In addition, the decrease of body width enabled the worm to advance the longer distance compared to the animal without nanoparticles in a wedge-shaped channel. The transgenic marker DNA, mtl-2::gfp was highly expressed upon the uptake of AgNPs, resulting in green fluorescence emission. The comparative investigation using gold nanoparticles and heavy-metal ions indicated that these parameters are specific to AgNPs. These results demonstrate that C. elegans-on-a-chip has a great potential as a rapid and specific nanoparticle detection or nanotoxicity assessment system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Science and Technology, Myongji University, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17058, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Ho
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Science and Technology, Myongji University, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17058, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Yun Jeong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Cha
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Myongji University, Yongin 17058, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hong
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Myongji University, Yongin 17058, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sang Kug
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.affiliation: School of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea.|Advanced Institutes of Convergence Technology, Suwon, Gyeonggi-do 16229, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Tai Hyun
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Energy Science and Technology, Myongji University, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17058, Republic of Korea.|Department of Food and Nutrition, Myongji University, Yongin, Gyeonggi-do 17058, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Shin Sik
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Choi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size / Q000187:drug effects; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000187:drug effects; D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D053768:Metal Nanoparticles / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity; D046208:Microchip Analytical Procedures / Q000379:methods; D012834:Silver / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D012834:Silver