A Microfluidic Device for Caenorhabditis Elegans Based Chemical Testing

The nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans has been employed as a popular model organism in many fields of biological research. In this paper, we present an easy-to-use microfluidic device for facilitating C. elegans based chemical testing. The device is capable of housing single worms in microfluidic chambers and precisely adjusting the chamber’s chemical environment during experiments. Eight worms can be readily loaded into the chambers through separate loading channels in a quick and gentle manner. In addition, a custom-made software with a graphic user interface is also created for quantitative analysis of locomotion parameters (swimming frequency and bend amplitude) of the worms in response to chemical stimuli, thus greatly enhancing the efficiency of data collection. We perform proof-of-concept experiments using two chemicals, zinc ion (Zn²⁺) and glucose, which demonstrate the capability and effectiveness of the microfluidic device.