dissection of the labium and separation of the labrum&#39;s tip for fabricating an atomic force microscopy probe

Isırma Davranışlarını İncelemek için Sivrisinek Labrumlu Biyo-Hibrit AFM Probu

World Health Organization (WHO) reported that vector-borne diseases (VBDs) account for over 17% of all infectious diseases, which cause more than 7,00,000 deaths per year globally. For example, as the deadliest animal in the world, mosquitoes spread numerous pathogens, such as dengue, malaria, and Zika, through blood-feeding arthropods, resulting in 700 million infections each year1. Explorations toward the development of effective measures to prevent VBDs are of crucial importance, including mimicking the penetration behaviors of mosquitoes to investigate their biting mechanisms and studies of potential barriers to prove their efficacy in preventing penetration. One key challenge is to develop proper approaches to perform such investigations. Efforts have been made in the literature, including the development of micro-scale needles that resemble the geometry of a mosquito stinger; however, many of the materials used to make these microneedles (i.e., viscoelastic materials2, silicon (Si), glass, ceramic3, etc.) have different mechanical properties than the biological material of the mosquito&#39;s proboscis. The engineered materials can be brittle and prone to fracture and buckling3,4, whereas the mosquito&#39;s proboscis can withstand fracture or buckling better4. The benefit of having a bio-hybrid probe using the labrum of a mosquito instead of engineered materials is that it can be a more accurate representation of the piercing mechanism of mosquitoes. Also, specialized tools must be integrated with micro needles to perform quantitative studies, such as the accurate measurement of force5, which is not easily achievable with customized setups using engineered microneedles.
Atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based approach is promising in that it operates by employing a cantilever with an ultra-fine tip that is carefully positioned close to a sample&#39;s surface. The tip can either scan across or be pressed towards/into a surface, experiencing varying attractive or repulsive forces due to its interactions with a sample6. These interactions lead to the cantilever&#39;s deflection, which is tracked by the reflection of a laser beam from the cantilever&#39;s top onto a photodetector6. The exceptional sensitivity to movement of the system enables AFM to conduct a diverse range of measurements, including but not limited to morphological mapping with picometer accuracy, force measurements ranging from piconewtons to micronewtons, and comprehensive multiphysics investigations7. For example, AFM indentations can be performed to precisely assess the response to the applied force of a sample and also to measure the hardness, elasticity, and other mechanical properties of a sample by coupling with appropriate analytical models8. The probe of the AFM is most commonly made of silicon (Si) or silicon nitride (Si3N4)8 with a length of 20-300 &#181;m9 and a tip radius on the order of several to tens of nanometers10. The nanometer scale tip radius can be ideal for applications such as high-resolution imaging; however, it does not possess the characteristics of biological stingers for studies that try to mimic penetration behaviors in terms of stiffness, radius, shape, and aspect ratio. For example, the microneedle structure of a mosquito is the fascicle, which has an aspect ratio of ~6011 (length ~1.5 mm to 2 mm; diameter ~30 &#181;m)12. While a conventional AFM probe can be assumed to resemble a biological stinger like a labrum, its distinct material properties and dimensions will not reflect the real situation during a bite.
To enable quantitative investigations of penetration behaviors mimicking biological bites of insects or other animals with stingers, here, a process to fabricate bio-hybrid AFM cantilevers with a biological stinger as its tip is developed. As a case study, an AFM cantilever with a mosquito labrum&#39;s tip attached was successfully demonstrated. Harnessing existing information from literature on the typical insertion forces that a mosquito uses to pierce through a victim&#39;s skin12,13, this bio-hybrid AFM cantilever can potentially allow near-real mimicry of mosquito bites under a regular AFM. The protocol of leveraging micro biological stingers to fabricate bio-hybrid AFM cantilevers can also be applied to the development of other sharp stinger-based biohybrid AFM cantilevers for quantitative investigations of a variety of biting mechanisms.
Terminologies 
A schematic of a proboscis and its components of interest are shown in Figure 1, and their definitions are (1) Proboscis: a body part from the mouth of a mosquito that allows the mosquito to feed itself, with a core-shell structure composed of the fascicle(core) and the labium(shell), (2) Labium: the dark and blunt outer cover of a proboscis2, (3) Fascicle: a group of slender needles contained inside of the labium, including two maxillae, two mandibles, a hypopharynx, and a labrum2, (4) Hypopharynx: responsible for secreting saliva into the host&#39;s bloodstream2, (5) Maxillae: serrated member assisting in the feeding mechanism2, (5) Mandibles: similar to the maxilla, they help the mosquito in the feeding mechanism and have a sharp tip2, (6) Labrum: the main member for penetrating the skin of a victim, which is much bigger than the maxillae, mandibles and hypopharynx. It also has sensory structures that allow it to find blood vessels and internal channels under the skin2, (7) Manipulator: an assembly with three degrees of freedom and micron-scale accuracy for positioning, allowing movement in XYZ directions, (8) Clamp assembly: a custom-made 2-part clamp mounted to the manipulator used to clamp the tipless AFM cantilever during the experiment.

Yazar Gündemi: Sivrisinek Isırma Mekanizmalarının Kantitatif Analizi için Biyo-Hibrit AFM Konsollarının Geliştirilmesi

Biyo-Hibrit Sivrisinek Stinger Tabanlı Atomik Kuvvet Mikroskobu Probunun Geliştirilmesi

We're looking to develop an AFM cantilever to potentially quantitatively study the biting mechanisms of the mosquito. Our protocol offers a new method for creating accurate, controllable, and reliable AFM probes in order to study animal biting or stinging processes. Our protocol aims at accurately simulating the animal biting process, causing current methodologies to either be uncontrollable, unreproducible in a reliable manner, or in certain cases completely inaccurate.The impact of our work is twofold. The first, we create a protocol that enables other researchers to fabricate their own custom bio-hybrid AFM cantilevers. Secondly, our work paves the way for creating other protocols that merge testing systems with biological material for creating more realistic testing scenarios.

Labiumun Diseksiyonu ve Bir Atomik Kuvvet Mikroskobu Probu Üretmek için Labrumun Ucunun Ayrılması

Başlamak için, cam slaytın üzerine ölü bir sivrisinek yerleştirin. Sonra nazikçe bir neşter bıçağını labiosun üzerine, sivrisineğin başının yanına yerleştirin. Labiumun tüm üst yarısı boyunca sığ bir penetrasyon derinliği ile bir kesi yapın.Daha sonra, bir cımbızla, sivrisineğin kafasını sıkıca tutun ve başka bir hassas cımbızla, konik uç ile insizyon arasındaki labium'u hafifçe sıkıştırın. Ardından labium'u tutan cımbızı konik uca doğru çekin. Labrumun ucunun mevcut olup olmadığını doğrulamak için sivrisineği mikroskop altına yerleştirin.Şimdi bir dizi hassas cımbızın uçlarını sıkıştırın ve kapatın ve cımbızın ucunu labrumun ucunun hemen yanına yerleştirin. Fasikülün uzunluğuna dik olan labruma hafif bir kuvvet uygulamak için cımbız ucunu kullanın. Diğer fasikül elemanlarından ayrılma sağlanana kadar labrumu cam slayt boyunca itmeye devam edin.Son olarak, ayrılmayı doğrulamak için numuneyi mikroskop altında inceleyin.

Research

JoVE Journal

Engineering

Dissection of the Labium and Separation of the Labrum&#39;s Tip for Fabricating an Atomic Force Microscopy Probe

Development of a Bio-Hybrid Mosquito Stinger-Based Atomic Force Microscopy Probe

Mosquitoes, notorious as the deadliest animals to humans due to their capacity to transmit diseases, pose a persistent challenge to public health. The ...

Mühendislik

Isolation of the Desired Labrum Tip for Preparing the Atomic Force Microscopy Probe

Atomik Kuvvet Mikroskobu Probunun Hazırlanması için İstenilen Labrum Ucunun İzolasyonu

Mounting and Bonding the Labrum&#39;s Tip to the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) Tipless Cantilever Beam

Labrumun Ucunun Atomik Kuvvet Mikroskobu (AFM) Uçsuz Konsol Kirişine Monte Edilmesi ve Yapıştırılması