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Measurement of Giardia lamblia adhesion force using an integrated microfluidic assay

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Abstract

The mechanisms how Giardias attach to the intestinal epithelium remain unclear. None of the methods currently being used to measure the attachment force could provide a continuous nutrition supply and a micro-aerobic atmosphere to the Giardia. Besides, they are all labor-intensive. In the present research, a microfluidic method based on electric circuit analogy was developed. The input fluid flowed through the inlet channel with different lengths and was distributed in four assay chambers. Shear force gradients were generated in chambers, too. This allowed an easy control of fluids and the shear forces. Most importantly, the shear stress large enough to detach Giardia could be generated in laminar flow regime. Moreover, analysis could be accomplished in one single test. By applying inlet flow rates of 30, 60, and 120 μL ml–1, shear force gradients ranging from 19.47 to 60.50 Pa were generated. The adhesion forces of trophozoites were analyzed and the EC50 of the force that caused 50% trophozoites detachment was calculated as 36.60 Pa. This paper presents a novel method for measurement of Giardia adhesion force.

Measurement of Giardia adhesion force. Various of flow rates were applied to generate different shear forces and Giardia trophozoites remaining attached were counted (a-c). The percentages of attachment vs shear stress were plotted and the EC50 of adhesion force was calculated (d)

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Xian-Ming Liu (Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) for proofreading the manuscript. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (no. 41476085, no 81471807), Scientific Research Project of Liaoning Education Department (L2013478, L2013479), and Development Plan for Distinguished Young Scholars of Liaoning Province (LJQ2015005).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical school, Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning, 116622, China

    Ling Lu, Fang-Fang Liu & Yun-Hua Wang

  2. Microfluidic research institute, Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning, 116622, China

    Ling Lu, Guo-Xia Zheng, Yu-Suo Yang, Cheng-Yu Feng, Fang-Fang Liu & Yun-Hua Wang

  3. Chemical and environmental engineering institute, Dalian University, Dalian, Liaoning, 116622, China

    Guo-Xia Zheng, Yu-Suo Yang & Cheng-Yu Feng

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  1. Ling Lu
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Correspondence to Yun-Hua Wang.

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Lu, L., Zheng, GX., Yang, YS. et al. Measurement of Giardia lamblia adhesion force using an integrated microfluidic assay. Anal Bioanal Chem 409, 1451–1459 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-0080-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-0080-1

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