Recent Advances in Microfluidic Platforms for C. Elegans Phenotyping: Comprehensive Review of Imaging Technologies and AI-Driven Analysis

초록

Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) possesses several features ideal for biological research, including a transparent body, a short life cycle, and high genetic homology with humans. These characteristics have established it as a premier model organism in the life sciences. However, traditional methods for C. elegans phenotyping, which typically involve cultivation on agar plates and manual quantification, face significant limitations in throughput, objectivity, and precise environmental control. Microfluidic technology has emerged to overcome these challenges, offering precise environmental control and enabling high-throughput studies. This review focuses on the synergistic interplay between microfluidic platforms, advanced imaging systems, and automated image-based quantitative analysis for comprehensive C. elegans phenotyping. We examined microfluidic techniques for spatially confining and immobilizing C. elegans, innovations in imaging hardware and computational image enhancement tailored for these systems, and the pivotal role of artificial intelligence in robustly quantifying complex phenotypes of C. elegans. The integration of these technologies allows for high-precision, high-throughput analysis of morphology, behavior, and subcellular events in C. elegans. This synergy significantly advances diverse fields such as neurobiology, developmental biology, drug screening, and aging research with C. elegans. Future perspectives include the development of standardized, intelligent, and automated platforms to further unlock the potential of the C. elegans model.

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