A Micromanipulation System for Automatic Batch Microinjection

The microinjection is a common technique in genetic engineering for transferring genetic material into a cell. It is normally performed on a micromanipulation system that usually consists of an inverted microscope, a micromanipulator, a micropipette and an injector. Manual microinjection is a conventional and widespread practice. However, this approach suffers from low success rate, poor efficiency, and high probability of contamination. We have developed a micromanipulation system for automatic batch microinjection by automating the key process of penetration in a microinjection. The microinjection system automatically identifies and penetrates each embryo/cell with a constant and fast speed, and in doing so, eliminates the possibility of contamination caused by manual operations. The effectiveness of this force-controlled system has been experimentally demonstrated in the tasks of automatic identification and penetration zebrafish embryos, which are widely used as a model for studying vertebrate development and genetics.