A simple and reusable bilayer membrane-based microfluidic device for the study of gradient-mediated bacterial behaviors
Journal
Biomicrofluidics
Journal Volume
11
Journal Issue
4
ISSN
1932-1058
Date Issued
2017-07-01
Author(s)
Wu Shang
Chen-Yu Tsao
Xiaolong Luo
Mairan Teodoro
Ryan McKay
David N. Quan
Gregory F. Payne
William E. Bentley
DOI
10.1063/1.4993438
Abstract
We have developed a user-friendly microfluidic device for the study of gradientmediated bacterial behaviors, including chemotaxis. This device rapidly establishes linear concentration gradients by exploiting solute diffusion through porous membranes in the absence of convective flows. As such, the gradients are created rapidly and can be sustained for long time periods (e.g., hours), sufficient to evaluate cell phenotype. The device exploits a unique simple bilayer configuration that enables rapid setup and quick reproducible introduction of cells. Its reusability represents an additional advantage in that it need not be limited to settings with microfluidics expertise. We have successfully demonstrated the applicability of this tool in studying the chemotactic response of Escherichia coli to glucose. When coupled with our recent Python program, quantified metrics such as speed, ratio of tumble to run, and effective diffusivity can be obtained from slow frame rate videos. Moreover, we introduce a chemotaxis partition coefficient that conveniently scores swimming behavior on the single-cell level.
Publisher
AIP Publishing
Description
Article number 044114
Type
journal article