Observation of dynamic samples using simple coverslip fluidics

Abstract

The ability to observe samples undergoing controlled fluid flow under the microscope is important for studying biochemical processes and motion dynamics. We describe here a simple method to achieve this using coverslips shaped using a fiber scribe. Testing showed good directional flow control within the test range of 0–1 ml/min flow rate and an ability to sustain a flow rate up to approximately 1 ml/min. Testing with a sealed T-channel coverslip demonstrated the ability to construct fluid network branches with this scheme. We also demonstrated the usefulness of this procedure in motion dynamic studies of Dunaliella algae swimming under fluid flow.

Key words::

• algae
• coverslip
• fluidics
• microscope
• slide

Acknowledgments

We thank John Beardall for providing some of the algae samples used in the experiments. This work was supported in part by ARC Discovery project grant DP0878454. The authors declare they have no conflict of interest.