Department of Mechanical Engineering, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Brief Funct Genomics. 2019 Nov 19;18(6):419-432. doi: 10.1093/bfgp/elz006.
Zebrafish or Danio rerio is an established model organism for studying the genetic, neuronal and behavioral bases of diseases and for toxicology and drug screening. The embryonic and larval stages of zebrafish have been used extensively in fundamental and applied research due to advantages offered such as body transparency, small size, low cost of cultivation and high genetic homology with humans. However, the manual experimental methods used for handling and investigating this organism are limited due to their low throughput, labor intensiveness and inaccuracy in delivering external stimuli to the zebrafish while quantifying various neuronal and behavioral responses. Microfluidic and lab-on-a-chip devices have emerged as ideal technologies to overcome these challenges. In this review paper, the current microfluidic approaches for investigation of behavior and neurobiology of zebrafish at embryonic and larval stages will be reviewed. Our focus will be to provide an overview of the microfluidic methods used to manipulate (deliver and orient), immobilize and expose or inject zebrafish embryos or larvae, followed by quantification of their responses in terms of neuron activities and movement. We will also provide our opinion in terms of the direction that the field of zebrafish microfluidics is heading toward in the area of biomedical engineering.
斑马鱼或 Danio rerio 是一种成熟的模式生物，可用于研究疾病的遗传、神经元和行为基础，以及毒理学和药物筛选。由于具有身体透明、体积小、培养成本低以及与人类具有高度遗传同源性等优势，斑马鱼的胚胎和幼虫阶段已被广泛应用于基础和应用研究。然而，由于手动实验方法的通量低、劳动强度大以及在向斑马鱼定量提供各种神经元和行为反应的同时对外界刺激的传递不准确，限制了这些方法的应用。微流控和片上实验室设备的出现为克服这些挑战提供了理想的技术手段。在这篇综述论文中，我们将回顾当前用于研究斑马鱼胚胎和幼虫阶段的行为和神经生物学的微流控方法。我们的重点将是提供用于操纵（输送和定向）、固定和暴露或注射斑马鱼胚胎或幼虫的微流控方法概述，然后根据神经元活动和运动来定量它们的反应。我们还将提供我们对斑马鱼微流控领域在生物医学工程领域的发展方向的看法。
