Microfluidic platform to analyze the effects of drugs on the locomotion behavior of parasites

This research paper presents a microfluidic platform for analyzing the effects of drugs and their dosage on the locomotion behavior of both free-living and parasitic nematodes. The chip provides a higher level of sensitivity for drug screening and can monitor four different nematode parameters in real time. It is a cross-species and cross-drug platform that is far more sophisticated than existing nematode motility and migration assays. The device consists of two parts: behavioral microchannels for nematode motility testing, and a drug well for administering the drug and observing the effects of exposure. The drug screening experiment is composed of three steps: first, worms are put into the behavioral channels and their locomotion is studied; second, worms are guided into the drug well to be exposed for a set time and their response to the dose is observed; lastly, worms are guided back into the behavioral microchannels to monitor their time-resolved response to the dose. An electric field is used to direct the nematodes’ movement, but it has no effect on their motility or viability. The platform has been tested on wild-type N2 and levamisole resistant ZZ15 lev-8 of Caenorhabditis elegans, and SENSelegant and LEVR of Oesophagotomum dentatum with levamisole as the test drug. This scheme of drug screening with the help of the microfluidic device is likely to increase the resolution, sensitivity, and data throughput of in vivo testing, and provide new details on the transient and time-resolved exposure effects of existing and new anthelmintics.