Time-lapse mechanical characterization of a single oocyte by using a robot integrated microfluidic chip

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K18003
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Intelligent mechanics/Mechanical systems
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Sakuma Shinya 名古屋大学, 工学研究科, 助教 (40724464)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: マイクロ・ナノメカトロニクス / MEMS / microTAS / 卵子 / 機械的特徴量 / ロボティクス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The mechanical characteristics of unfertilized oocytes are thought to have changed with the cultivation time. Since the most of conventional evaluation methods of the transition of mechanical characteristics are based on the indexes provided by morphological analysis, the method of time-lapse mechanical characterization is required to evaluate its transition. In this study, we proposed a pipette-shaped robot integrated microfluidic chip which consist a membrane pump and a pair of indentation probe and force sensor to measure the stiffness of oocyte. By using the constructed measurement system, we succeeded in the time-lapse measurements of mechanical characteristics of mouse oocyte.

Free Research Field

マイクロ・ナノメカトロニクス