Plant chip for high-throughput analysis of root elongation bioassays

JOANA MACAGNO; CLAUDIO BERLI; LESCANO, MAIA RAQUEL

Córdoba

Congreso; II Brazil-Argentine Microfluidics Congress V Congreso de Microfluídica Argentina; 2019

A novel platform to performsystematic analysis and direct reading of root elongation bioassays ispresented. The plant chip (PC) was designed to include multiplexedmicroenvironments for the germination and growth of individual seeds, whichallows observation by the naked eye or by optical systems, notably cellphonecameras. Prototypes were fabricated by laser micromachining on a highlytransparent material that is fully compatible with biological systems. Theeffectiveness of the chip was verified against the conventional system, Petridish (PD). Lactuca sativa was chosenas a model species and glyphosate as a typical toxic agent. All tests were runaccording to standardized procedures and data analysis was carried out throughdifferent statistical indicators such as the root elongation and germinationindexes. Results attained in the plant chip were identical to those in Petridish, with the remarkable benefit that several steps required in theconventional system were avoided, which enormously decreases the operation timeand the possibility of experimental errors. Further advantages of the plantchip are also reported, such as the capability to achieve live imaging of plantorgans growth through a simple experiment. The developed device has been provento be effective, versatile, easy-to-use, and integrable to cellphones, whichnaturally provide facilities for data recording, analysis, and networking.These improvements open the route to novel applications of bioassays in thewide field of ecotoxicology and environmental studies.