The µFabLab is a very special place for members of the institute, where creative ideas become reality.
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Live Cell Imaging
The following imaging systems are available at the Institute of Cell and Interaction Biology
RootChip
The RootChip is a microfluidic device designed for high-resolution imaging of plant roots under precisely controlled conditions.
Seedling roots grow into channel structures and thereby mount themselves for imaging, avoiding typical mechanical stress during specimen preparation. Once inside the imaging chamber, roots are subjected to hydroponic nutrient solutions and amenable to treatments. We develop RootChips in various designs to stimulate roots and record signaling or transport kinetics using genetically encoded biosensors.
RoPod
In collaboration with Dr. Alyona Minina (Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences), we developed the RoPod (Guichard et al., 2024). It is a device that allows for both the culture and microscopy imaging of Arabidopsis roots, thereby reducing the stress typically applied during the transfer from the culture environment to the imaging device. This facilitates long-term imaging of the roots and is compatible with the application of liquid treatments. The device can be 3D printed to provide more flexibility for experimental setups.
Different RoPod models and their associated printing files are available on GitHub (https://github.com/AlyonaMinina/RoPod.Hardware).
Robotic Imaging
ICIB has been expanding into the realm of automatic imaging and phenotyping of plants. First steps were taken by mounting a camera to a robotic arm to observe growth changes in shoots in response to salt stress. More complex systems are in development, involving microscopes, automated treatment and much more.
3D printing
At ICIB, we use Ultimaker S5, Prusa MK3S+ and Prusa MINI+ 3D printers to make RoPods and other useful tools for everyday life in the lab.
For microfluidic chip production we use Form3 SLA 3D printer (SLA) to make the molds. This allows us to quickly modify the chip designs to suit our needs.
Using a set of techniques including 3D printing, soft lithography or mechanical engineering, we develop prototypes of novel imaging devices or little helpers for the lab.