Small model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster (fruit fly), D. Rerio (Zebrafish), and C. elegans, have been widely used in genetics, developmental and behavioral studies as well as in the fields of neuroscience, pharmacology, and toxicology.
However, the manual manipulation, cellular investigation and behavioral phenotyping techniques utilized in conventional in vivo and in vitro assays using these tiny models are mostly time-consuming, labor-intensive, and low in throughput. Moreover, stimulation of the organism with external biological, chemical, or physical signals requires precision in signal delivery, while quantification of neural and behavioral phenotypes necessitates optical and physical accessibility to larval and embryonic organs.
I developed several microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices and software as powerful tools to overcome these challenges.
I developed several microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices and software as powerful tools to overcome these challenges.
5. Genetically Modified Flies for Heart-Specific Gene Expression in Cardiotoxicity/Cardioprotection Studies
This includes:
- Larvae and embryos expressing GFP in their pericardial cells and membrane cardiomyocytes.
- Larvae and embryos expressing MTF-1 in their membrane cardiomyocytes.
- Larvae and embryos expressing the SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a protein in their pericardial cells and membrane cardiomyocytes.
Below are a few videos of intact GFP-expressing larval hearts recorded using our microfluidic device.