Lifespan-on-a-chip: microfluidic chambers for performing lifelong observation of C. elegans

This article describes the fabrication of a microfluidic device for the liquid culture of many individual nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) in separate chambers. Each chamber houses a single worm from the fourth larval stage until death, and enables examination of a population of individual wo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Lab on a chip 2010-01, Vol.10 (5), p.589-597
Main Authors: Hulme, S Elizabeth, Shevkoplyas, Sergey S, McGuigan, Alison P, Apfeld, Javier, Fontana, Walter, Whitesides, George M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Caenorhabditis elegans - physiology
Equipment Design
Equipment Failure Analysis
Life Cycle Stages - physiology
Life Support Systems - instrumentation
Microfluidic Analytical Techniques - instrumentation
Monitoring, Physiologic - instrumentation
Reproducibility of Results
Sensitivity and Specificity
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article describes the fabrication of a microfluidic device for the liquid culture of many individual nematode worms (Caenorhabditis elegans) in separate chambers. Each chamber houses a single worm from the fourth larval stage until death, and enables examination of a population of individual worms for their entire adult lifespans. Adjacent to the chambers, the device includes microfluidic worm clamps, which enable periodic, temporary immobilization of each worm. The device made it possible to track changes in body size and locomotion in individual worms throughout their lifespans. This ability to perform longitudinal measurements within the device enabled the identification of age-related phenotypic changes that correlate with lifespan in C. elegans.
ISSN:1473-0197
1473-0189
DOI:10.1039/b919265d