The DIY electronics transforming research

Cressey, Daniel

doi:10.1038/544125a

Cited by 64 publications

(50 citation statements)

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“…Affordability and portability in fluorescence microscopy has been accomplished by retrofitting optical elements (objectives, filters, LEDS, lasers, lenses, mirrors) and 3D-printed parts to smartphones cameras [3,5,11–13]. However, smartphones, although extremely powerful and unique, are difficult to reconfigure and take apart [14]; evolve at a rapid pace which may render them obsolete; constant software updates on the operating systems may disrupt their performance [15]; their size hampers further miniaturization and interferes in the integration with other additaments or sensors; and are not optimized for long-term biological experimentation [16]. A different approach has been to use regular cameras (webcams or digital cameras) placed in a framework made of plastic parts, metallic hardware, and 3D-printed parts [5,6,16,17]; however, in some cases, the complexity of their designs encumbers downstream integration with other 3D printed parts and the amount of pieces needed to put it together may be overwhelming for a newcomer or for technologists trying to develop affordable instrumentation in low-resource settings.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facile assembly of an affordable miniature multicolor fluorescence microscope made of 3D-printed parts enables detection of single cells

Tristan-Landin¹,

Gonzalez-Suarez²,

Jimenez-Valdes³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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18Fluorescence microscopy is one of the workhorses of biomedical research and laboratory diagnosis;19 however, their cost, size, maintenance, and fragility has prevented their adoption in developing countries 20 or low-resource settings. Although significant advances have decreased their size, cost and accessibility, 21 their designs and assembly remain rather complex. Here, inspired on the simple mechanism from a nut and 22 a bolt we report the construction of a portable fluorescence microscope that operates in bright field mode 23 and in three fluorescence channels: UV, green, and red. It is assembled in under 10 min from only six 3D 24printed parts and basic electronic components that can be readily purchased in most locations or online for 25 US $85. Adapting a microcomputer and a touch LCD screen, the microscope can capture time-lapse images 26 and videos. We characterized its resolution and illumination conditions and benchmarked its performance 27 against a high-end fluorescence microscope by tracking a biological process in single cells. We also 28 demonstrate its application to image cells inside a microfluidic device in bright-field and fluorescence 29 mode. Our microscope fits in a CO 2 chamber and can be operated in time-lapse mode. Our portable 30 microscope is ideal in applications where space is at a premium, such as lab-on-a-chips or space missions, 31and can find applications in clinical research, diagnostics, telemedicine and in educational settings. 32 33 3 34

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facile assembly of an affordable miniature multicolor fluorescence microscope made of 3D-printed parts enables detection of single cells

Tristan-Landin¹,

Gonzalez-Suarez²,

Jimenez-Valdes³

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While, the miniaturization of PCR technologies currently allows in-field nucleic acid amplification, for both metagenetics and qPCR (Marx, 2015). These developments, coupled with easily programmable micro-computers (e.g., Raspberry Pi) (Cressey, 2017), bring the intriguing prospect of fully automated, remote molecular biomonitoring closer to reality (Bohan et al, 2017;Jackson et al, 2016). This has the potential to provide faster identification of environmental perturbations, and thus quicker implementation of remedial actions, while at the same time reducing sample handling and storage issues that could influence microbial community composition (Lauber, Zhou, Gordon, Knight, & Fierer, 2010;Rochelle, Cragg, Fry, Parkes, & Weightman, 1994).…”

Section: The Future Of Molecular Microbial Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Streams of data from drops of water: 21st century molecular microbial ecology

et al. 2018

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Microorganisms are ubiquitous and represent a taxonomically and functionally diverse component of freshwater environments of significant ecological importance. The bacteria, archaea, and microbial eukarya in freshwater systems support a range of ecosystem processes and functions, including mediating all major biogeochemical cycles, and therefore regulate the flow of multiple ecosystem services. Yet relative to conspicuous higher taxa, microbial ecology remains poorly understood. As the anthropocene progresses, the demand for freshwaterecosystem services is both increasing with growing human population density, and by association, increasingly threatened from multiple and often interacting stressors, such as climate change, eutrophication, and chemical pollution. Thus, it is imperative to understand the ecology of microorganisms and their functional role in freshwater ecosystems if we are to manage the future of these environments effectively. To do this, researchers have developed a vast array of molecular tools that can illuminate the diversity, composition, and activity of microbial communities. Within this primer, we discuss the history of molecular approaches in microbial ecology, and highlight the scope of questions that these methods enable researchers to address. Using some recent case studies, we describe some exemplar research into the microbial ecology of freshwater systems, and emphasize how molecular methods can provide novel ecological insights. Finally, we detail some promising developments within this research field, and how these might shape the future research landscape of freshwater microbial ecology.

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“…Conversely, automated cell growth systems can maintain constant growth rates under precisely defined conditions, but are difficult to parallelize due to cost, space-inefficiency, and design complexity [16][17][18] . A recent convergence of several open-source technologies-inexpensive additive manufacturing, do-it-yourself (DIY) software/hardware interface, and cloud computinghas enabled the in-lab fabrication of new custom laboratory platforms [19][20][21][22] . Various examples in automated cell culture include devices designed to perform automated dilution routines for exploring antibiotic resistance acquisition 23 , or that implement design features such as real-time monitoring of bulk fluorescence 7 , light-based feedback control of synthetic gene circuits 24 , and chemostat parallelization 25 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A generalizable experimental framework for automated cell growth and laboratory evolution

Kiriakov

et al. 2018

Preprint

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In the post-genomics era, exploration of phenotypic adaptation is limited by our ability to experimentally control selection conditions, including multi-variable and dynamic pressure regimes. While automated cell culture systems offer real-time monitoring and fine control over liquid cultures, they are difficult to scale to high-throughput, or require cumbersome redesign to meet diverse experimental requirements. Here we describe eVOLVER, a multipurpose, scalable DIY framework that can be easily configured to conduct a wide variety of growth fitness experiments at scale and cost. We demonstrate eVOLVER's versatility by configuring it for diverse growth and selection experiments that would be otherwise challenging for other systems. We conduct high-throughput evolution of yeast across different population density niches. We perform growth selection on a yeast knockout library under temporally varying temperature regimes. Finally, inspired by large-scale integration in electronics and microfluidics, we develop novel millifluidic multiplexing modules that enable complex fluidic routines including multiplexed media routing, cleaning, vial-to-vial transfers, and automated yeast mating. We propose eVOLVER to be a versatile design framework in which to study, characterize, and evolve biological systems.

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The DIY electronics transforming research

Cited by 64 publications

References 0 publications

Facile assembly of an affordable miniature multicolor fluorescence microscope made of 3D-printed parts enables detection of single cells

Facile assembly of an affordable miniature multicolor fluorescence microscope made of 3D-printed parts enables detection of single cells

Streams of data from drops of water: 21st century molecular microbial ecology

A generalizable experimental framework for automated cell growth and laboratory evolution

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