Piezoelectric driven non-toxic injector for automated cell manipulation

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Robotics
• Cellular Biology

Background:

• Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) automation seeks to enhance precision and speed.
• Current piezo-drill cell injection techniques use mercury, leading to toxicity and cell damage.
• Lateral tip oscillations of injector pipettes cause complications in ICSI.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a new design for a piezo-driven cell injector for automated suspended cell injection.
• To eliminate mercury toxicity and reduce cell membrane damage during ICSI.
• To improve the precision and efficiency of automated cell injection techniques.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel piezo-driven cell injector design.
• Centralization of piezo oscillation power on the injector pipette.
• Attenuation of lateral tip oscillations without using a mercury column.

Main Results:

• The new design effectively centralizes piezo oscillation, minimizing vibrations in the micromanipulator.
• Detrimental lateral tip oscillations of the injector pipette are significantly reduced.
• A mercury-free injection technique is achieved, eliminating mercury toxicity.

Conclusions:

• The proposed mercury-free piezo-driven cell injector offers a non-toxic alternative for automated cell injection.
• This technology has significant potential for applications in gene injection, in-vitro fertilization (IVF), ICSI, and drug development.
• The design advances automated cell injection by improving survival rates and reducing procedural complications.