{"63304":{"#nid":"63304","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Microfluidic Device Rapidly Orients Hundreds of Fly Embryos","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed a microfluidic device that automatically orients hundreds of fruit fly and other embryos to prepare them for research. The device could facilitate the study of such issues as how organisms develop their complex structures from single cells -- one of the most fascinating aspects of biology.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EScientists know that among an embryo\u0027s first major developments is the establishment of its dorsoventral axis, which runs from its back to its belly. Determining how this axis development unfolds -- specifically the presence and location of proteins during the process -- requires the ability to simultaneously monitor large numbers of embryos with different genetic backgrounds at several time points.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Collecting and analyzing the signaling and transcriptional patterns of the dorsoventral axis typically requires manual manipulation of individual embryos to stand them on their ends, making it difficult to conduct high-throughput experiments that can achieve statistically significant results,\u0022 said Hang Lu, an associate professor in the Georgia Tech School of Chemical \u0026amp; Biomolecular Engineering.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo enable large-scale quantitative analyses of protein positional information along the dorsoventral axis, Lu designed a microfluidic device that reliably and robustly orients several hundred embryos in just a few minutes. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EDetails of the device design and results from proof-of-concept experiments with fruit fly embryos were published in the Dec. 26 advance online edition of the journal \u003Cem\u003ENature Methods.\u003C\/em\u003E This project was supported by the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and the DuPont Young Professor program.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ELu designed and fabricated the device with the help of Kwanghun Chung and Emily Gong, who worked on the project as Georgia Tech graduate and undergraduate students, respectively. Fabricated from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), the compact device is the size of a microscope slide and contains approximately 700 traps for embryos, which are shaped like grains of rice but smaller in size.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn operation, fluid flows through an \u0022S\u0022-shaped channel wide enough for embryos of any orientation to move easily through it. The fluid efficiently directs the embryos toward the traps, while sweeping out extra and improperly trapped embryos. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The flow pattern significantly increased the frequency at which embryos contacted the traps and were loaded into them,\u0022 explained Lu. \u0022Experimentally, we found on average 90 percent of the embryos became trapped in the device, which will be valuable for studies that only have a small number of embryos available.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen an embryo approaches an empty trap, it experiences non-uniform pressure and shear from the surrounding fluid. The resulting force flips the embryo vertically and inserts it into the cylindrical trap in an upright position, with its dorsoventral axis parallel to the ground. The embryo is then secured inside the trap, without any need for user intervention or control. The lock-in feature allows the device to be disconnected from the rest of the hardware and transported for imaging or storage with the embryos enclosed.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022At one point, we mailed a microfluidic embryo trap array device full of trapped fruit fly embryos to our collaborators at Princeton University, and upon arrival, the embryos were still upright in their locked traps,\u0022 said Lu.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo demonstrate the device\u0027s capabilities, Lu collaborated with Stanislav Shvartsman, an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Princeton University, and his graduate student Yoosik Kim. The Princeton researchers used the device to quantify gradients of signaling molecules called morphogens in fixed embryos and also used it to monitor nuclear divisions in live embryos.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn one experiment, the Princeton researchers determined the spatial extent of the distribution of Dorsal, a transcription factor that initiates the dorsal-to-ventral patterning of the Drosophila embryo. They also demonstrated that this gradient could be quantitatively compared between wild-type and mutant embryos.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The trap array device provided a significant increase in the number of fixed and live embryos we could image simultaneously and allowed us to accurately resolve issues of interest to developmental biologists today,\u0022 explained Lu.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EIn the future, scientists should be able to adapt the microfluidic device for studies of pattern formation and morphogenesis in other model organisms, such as zebrafish or worm embryos. Results of those studies will be important to the scientific community because many genes controlling development are similar in worms, fruit flies and mammals.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThis project was supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) (Award No. DBI\u20100649833) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Award No. R21NS058465). The content is solely the responsibility of the principal investigator and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NSF or NIH.\u003C\/em\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News \u0026amp; Publications Office\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAtlanta, Georgia  30308  USA\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Vogel Robinson (abby@innovate.gatech.edu; 404-385-3364) or John Toon (jtoon@gatech.edu; 404-894-6986)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter:\u003C\/strong\u003E Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EResearchers have developed a microfluidic device that orients hundreds of fruit fly embryos to prepare them for research. The device could facilitate the study of such issues as how organisms develop their complex structures from single cells.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Device enables high-throughput experiments with fly embryos."}],"uid":"27206","created_gmt":"2010-12-21 01:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:07:57","author":"Abby Vogel Robinson","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-12-26T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2010-12-26T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"63305":{"id":"63305","type":"image","title":"microfluidic device","body":null,"created":"1449176668","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:04:28","changed":"1475894554","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:34","alt":"microfluidic device","file":{"fid":"191798","name":"tny77603.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tny77603_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tny77603_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":314820,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tny77603_0.jpg?itok=iBXwZFyk"}},"63306":{"id":"63306","type":"image","title":"microfluidic embryo trap schematics","body":null,"created":"1449176668","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:04:28","changed":"1475894554","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:34","alt":"microfluidic embryo trap schematics","file":{"fid":"191799","name":"tbv77603.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbv77603_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tbv77603_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":337914,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tbv77603_0.jpg?itok=84tJFCdH"}},"63307":{"id":"63307","type":"image","title":"fruit fly embryos","body":null,"created":"1449176668","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:04:28","changed":"1475894554","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:42:34","alt":"fruit fly embryos","file":{"fid":"191800","name":"tup77603.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tup77603_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/tup77603_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":726550,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/tup77603_0.jpg?itok=tYqVpiF7"}}},"media_ids":["63305","63306","63307"],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1038\/nmeth.1548","title":"Nature Methods paper"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/fac_staff\/faculty\/lu.php","title":"Dr. Hang Lu"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.chbe.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Chemical \u0026 Biomolecular Engineering"}],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"141","name":"Chemistry and Chemical Engineering"},{"id":"145","name":"Engineering"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"11513","name":"dorsoventral axis"},{"id":"7798","name":"drosophila"},{"id":"9228","name":"embryo"},{"id":"7799","name":"fruit fly"},{"id":"1110","name":"gene"},{"id":"7341","name":"microfluidic"},{"id":"11514","name":"pattern"},{"id":"3003","name":"protein"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003EResearch News and Publications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.gatech.edu\/contact\/index.html?id=avogel6\u0022\u003EContact Abby Vogel Robinson\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E404-385-3364\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["abby@innovate.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}