A microfluidic-enabled mechanical microcompressor for the immobilization of live single- and multi-cellular specimens.

ABSTRACT: A microcompressor is a precision mechanical device that flattens and immobilizes living cells and small organisms for optical microscopy, allowing enhanced visualization of sub-cellular structures and organelles. We have developed an easily fabricated device, which can be equipped with microfluidics, permitting the addition of media or chemicals during observation. This device can be used on both upright and inverted microscopes. The apparatus permits micrometer precision flattening for nondestructive immobilization of specimens as small as a bacterium, while also accommodating larger specimens, such as Caenorhabditis elegans, for long-term observations. The compressor mount is removable and allows easy specimen addition and recovery for later observation. Several customized specimen beds

SUBMITTER: Yan Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4026272 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature