Fig. 5
From: Increasing access to microfluidics for studying fungi and other branched biological structures
Ready-to-use microfluidics for studying the biology of branched structures. a Schematic design of a four-chamber (O R N L) microfluidic architecture with two end-wells for cultures (6 mm circles). The interconnecting channel grid dimensions are shown, 15 µm wide channels spaced by 500 µm gap. Boundary channels framing the four chambers and grid are 500 µm wide. b A sterile vacuum-packaged microfluidic chip ready for shipment, and ready to use. c An ORNL microfluidic chip with green dye in channels. d Map showing distribution of 28 ready-to-use ORNL chambers to 18 potential collaborators for fungal and other branched biology research (United States: Michigan, New York, North Carolina, and California. Europe: France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary, Sweden, and Switzerland0. e–h Results from implementing ready-to-use microfluidics in collaborative labs. e Rapidly growing M. elongata AG77 navigates the peripheral channels to fill the ORNL chambers of the device. f Microfluidic co-culture of Neurospora crassa and Pseudomonas fluorescens in microfluidic cultures (bacteria 1 μm, hypha 3 μm). g Merged image of bright field and fluorescence image of Paraburkholderia caribensis and M. elongata. h Nicotiana attenuata root grown in the presence of endophytic fungi, M. elongata NVP64+ ; fungal hypha and chlamydospores are observed within the plant root