Microfluidic chip for analyzing the effects of drugs and their dosage on the locomotion behavior of parasitic worms

7 PAGES (1335 WORDS) Applied Microbiology Report

This new microfluidic platform offers a more sensitive method for screening drugs and their effects on the locomotion of free living and parasitic nematodes. The chip is capable of monitoring four nematode parameters (number of worms responsive, number of worms leaving the drug well, average worm velocity and time until unresponsiveness) to provide a more detailed analysis and resolution of drug resistance. The drug screening experiment is divided into three parts: pre-exposure study, dose exposure, and post-exposure study, through which the innate pre-exposure locomotion, the transient response during drug exposure, and the time-resolved, post-exposure behavior can be observed in real-time at a single-worm resolution. We have demonstrated the workability of the microfluidic platform on C. elegans and O. dentatum using levamisole, and the results of the experiment suggest that the proposed scheme could significantly improve the resolution and sensitivity of in vivo testing.