Transgenic C. elegans are created via microinjection of plasmid DNA, a process that has a short time frame of 10min in its current state. An new method developed in Prof. Albrecht's lab utilizes PEG to encapsulate the worms, increasing longevity to 24h or more, with a observed issue of the healthy shell becoming more durable, leading to difficulty puncturing. Our team developed an attachment to solve this problem. Our design was a 3D-printed attachment, utilizing vibration to provide 5-15 µm of movement in the needle. This motion was quantified by microscopy as 4 µm transversely, and 12 µm axially, which reduced the depression of the C. elegans cuticle from 67 µm to 27 µm. Our design was confirmed via successfully injecting dye into the C. elegans.

• This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

Creator

• Rockwell, Noah James
• Rockwell, Christopher J

Publisher

• Worcester Polytechnic Institute

Identifier

• E-project-042518-231020

Advisor

• Albrecht, Dirk
• Radhakrishnan, Pradeep

Year

• 2018

Date created

• 2018-04-25

Resource type

• Major Qualifying Project

Major

• Biomedical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering

Rights statement

• In Copyright