Mechanical Compression of Drosophila Embryos Using Rapid Fabrication Microfluidic Devices

Microfluidic devices support developmental and mechanobiology studies by enabling the precise control of electrical, chemical, and mechanical stimuli at the microscale. Here, we describe the fabrication of customizable microfluidic devices and demonstrate their efficacy in applying mechanical loads to micro-organs and whole organisms, such as Drosophila embryos. The fabrication technique consists in the use of xurography to define channels and chambers using thin layers of thermoplastics and glass. The superposition of layers followed by thermal lamination produces robust and reproducible devices that are easily adapted for a variety of experiments. The integration of deformable layers and glass in these devices facilitates the imaging of cellular and molecular dynamics in biological specimens under mechanical loads. The method is highly adaptable for studies in mechanobiology.