Microscale platforms provide a unique perfusion and culturing microenvironment for zebrafish embryos, and are thus of great interest for biological studies. However, traditional microfluidic devices fail to accommodate trans-stage zebrafish (i.e., embryo to swimming larvae) effectively. Furthermore, while the microfluidic devices themselves are cheap, the microscopes required to perform tissue/organ level imaging are extremely expensive. Moreover, the methods used to load, transport, and immobilize the larvae are tedious and invasive. Finally, the literature lacks methods for performing on-chip trapping, incubation, drug exposure, and real-time analysis of zebrafish larvae on a single, integrated platform. Accordingly, this thesis developed a smart microfluidic fish farm system consisting of a fish-on-a-chip microfluidic device and supporting peripherals for the culturing and imaging of trans-stage zebrafish. The system was designed to facilitate four main functions: (i) dynamic culturing and perfusion of zebrafish larvae; (ii) highly-efficient temperature control; iii) noninvasive zebrafish larvae transportation and manipulation through the use of opto-acoustic stimuli; and iv) low-cost, high-performance on-chip imaging. Furthermore, the platform was integrated with Internet-of-Things (IoT) technology in order to facilitate the remote culturing, testing and imaging of zebrafish larvae without the need for human intervention. The feasibility of the proposed platform was demonstrated experimentally. Overall, the results confirmed that the platform provides a viable approach for the autonomous culturing, transportation, and trapping of zebrafish larvae and other organisms (e.g., C. elegans). It is thus expected to be of significant benefit in such applications as neurological behavioral screening, prescription drug evaluation, environmental toxicity monitoring, and so on.

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