In situ micro-force sensing and quantitative elasticity evaluation of living Drosophila embryos at different stages

The objective of this paper is to investigate the force behavior and elasticity (plasticity) of living Drosophila embryos at different stages using an in situ PVDF (polyvinylidene fluoride) piezoelectric micro-force sensor with sub-muN resolution. The Drosophila embryo is one of the most studied organisms in biological research, medical research, genetics and developmental biology, and has implications in the cure of human diseases. It is also used to study the wiring of human brain and the nervous system. For a highly efficient and accurate micro-injection of genetic material into a Drosophila embryo, it is absolutely necessary to allow close monitoring of the magnitude and direction of micro-injection and other biomanipulation forces acting on the embryo during the injection process. By quantitatively evaluating the elasticity of Drosophila embryos at different stages, critical information useful to biologists and geneticist for bio-injection and gene modification is obtained, thus enhancing greatly micro-injection of Drosophila embryos.