This project revolves around the development and analysis of a novel quadruple-fish microfluidic chip designed for simultaneous monitoring of cardiac and respiratory functions of zebrafish larvae. Leveraging multi-phenotypic screening and data analytics, the quadruple-fish microfluidic chip allows for efficient bi-directional imaging, providing insights into the impact of chemical stimuli on heart rate (HR) and fin beat frequency (FBF). The project demonstrates the sensitivity of the proposed technique in detecting cardiac and respiratory dysfunctions induced by ethanol and cadmium chloride, establishing its relevance in data-driven behavioral screening.

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Methodology

1. Chemical Testing:

Conducted experiments exposing zebrafish larvae to ethanol and cadmium. Quantified and analyzed the impact of chemicals on Heart rate (HR) and Fin Beat Frequency (FBF).

2. Video Analysis:

Implemented image processing to extract HR and FBF of zebrafish larvae from rom bi-directional imaging data.

3. Viability Study:

Performed a viability test to ensure the safety of the microfluidic loading process. Monitored larvae for acute and chronic effects over a span of 10 days.

4. Data Analysis:

Applied statistical methods for accurate interpretation. Utilized Kaplan-Meier, Shapiro-Wilk, Mann-Whitney U, and two-tailed student’s t-test for survival, normality, and significant difference analyses, respectively.

5. Data Visualization:

Created visualizations by developing bar and box plots with Standard Error of the Mean (SEM).

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Result

This project contributed to the development of a versatile microfluidic platform for zebrafish cardiac and respiratory function studies. It addresses the impact of chemical stimuli on cardiac and respiratory functions and ensures the safety and viability of the platform. Future work may involve scaling up throughput, automating processes, and exploring additional applications in toxicological studies. __

Further Information

Published Work in Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journal (Integrative Biology, 2022): Simultaneous screening of zebrafish larvae cardiac and respiratory functions: a microfluidic multi-phenotypic approach