We report a novel fusion of droplet microfluidics and light-sheet microscopy, to achieve high-throughput sample compartmentalization, manipulation and three-dimensional imaging on a chip. This optofluidic device characterized by orthogonal plane illumination and rapid liquid handling is compact and cost-effective, and capable of preparing sample droplets with tunable size, frequency and ingredient. Each droplet flowing through the device's imaging region is self-scanned by a laser-sheet, three-dimensionally reconstructed and quantitatively analysed. This simple-and-robust platform combines fast 3-D imaging with efficient sample preparation and eliminates the need of a complicated mechanical scan at the same time. Achieving 500 measurements per second and screening over 30 samples per minute, it shows great potential for various lab-on-a-chip biological studies, such as embryo sorting and cell growth assays.

Abstract:We developed a compact plane illumination plugin (PIP) device which enabled plane illumination and light sheet fluorescence imaging on a conventional inverted microscope. The PIP device allowed the integration of microscope with tunable laser sheet profile, fast image acquisition, and 3-D scanning. The device is both compact, measuring approximately 15 by 5 by 5 cm, and cost-effective, since we employed consumer electronics and an inexpensive device molding method. We demonstrated that PIP provided significant contrast and resolution enhancement to conventional microscopy through imaging different multi-cellular fluorescent structures, including 3-D branched cells in vitro and live zebrafish embryos. Imaging with the integration of PIP greatly reduced out-of-focus contamination and generated sharper contrast in acquired 2-D plane images when compared with the stand-alone inverted microscope. As a result, the dynamic fluid domain of the beating zebrafish heart was clearly segmented and the functional monitoring of the heart was achieved. Furthermore, the enhanced axial resolution established by thin plane illumination of PIP enabled the 3-D reconstruction of the branched cellular structures, which leads to the improvement on the functionality of the wide field microscopy. 1938-1940 (2007

No abstract

No abstract