Microinjection support system for small biological subjects
Yasuhiro Sugimoto,
Keisuke Naniwa,
Hitoshi Aonuma,
Koichi Osuka
Affiliations
Yasuhiro Sugimoto
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
Keisuke Naniwa
Research Center of Mathematics for Social Creativity, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 12, Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0812, Japan
Hitoshi Aonuma
Research Center of Mathematics for Social Creativity, Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Kita 12, Nishi 7, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0812, Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency (CREST), Kawaguchi Center Building, 1-8 4-Chome, Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
Koichi Osuka
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency (CREST), Kawaguchi Center Building, 1-8 4-Chome, Honcho, Kawaguchi, Saitama 332-0012, Japan
In biological research, various experiments such as behavioral experiments and physiological ones are often conducted with pharmacologically treated animals. In such experiments, it is necessary to inject the same volume of solution into numerous small animals, such as insects to prepare several experimental subjects. However, repeating manual injections is burdensome, and it is also difficult to maintain injection quality and consistency. We have developed a microinjection system that can support and semiautomate the injections of small animals. The system consists of two cameras, a micromanipulator, a syringe pump, and a structural framework all operated from a personal computer to quickly inject the same volume of liquid solutions at the same position and depth into small animals. The microinjection system has sufficient extensibility for it to be used in a variety of applications.
