Abstract
We proved the feasibility of using a microfluidic chip to culture diatom Bacillaria paradoxa, and analyzed the gliding characteristics of its self-organized colony in detail. The optimal cultivation parameters of B. paradoxa for the designed chip made with polydimethylsiloxane are as follows: the preferable cells injecting rate for keeping the cells alive is 0.2 mL/h, the initial cell density for fast reproduction is 5.5 × 104 cells/mL, and the optimal replacement period of culture medium is 4 days. B. paradoxa tends to form a colony during their growth, and the colony can glide with a steady period of 29 ± 3 s along its axial direction in a constant stream, the amplitude of the colony will not decay (e.g., 24 μm of two-cell colony at 1.1 mm/s flow rate), and the colony rapidly adjusts its direction of gliding to the direction of water flow. The successful culture of diatoms on a microfluidic platform may be used for biosensing chips and the creation of gasoline-producing diatom solar panels.
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This work was supported by the National Science Foundation of China (No. 50805005 and 51275025).
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Cai, J., Chen, M., Wang, Y. et al. Culture and Motion Analysis of Diatom Bacillaria paradoxa on a Microfluidic Platform. Curr Microbiol 67, 652–658 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0413-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-013-0413-7