# Image-guided robot for high-throughput microinjection of Drosophila embryos

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2020 · $222,618

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This proposal is submitted in response to the NIH Development of Animal Models and Related Biological
Materials for Research (R21) program. The proposal develops an image-guided robotic platform that performs
the automated delivery of molecular genetic tools and non-genetically encoded reagents such as chemical
libraries, fluorescent dyes to monitor cellular processes, functionalized magnetic beads, or nanoparticles into
thousands of Drosophila embryos in a single experimental session. The proposed work builds on recent
engineering innovations in our collaborative group which has developed image-guided robotic systems that can
precisely interface with single cells in intact tissue. The two Specific Aims provide for a systematic
development of the proposed technologies. AIM 1 first engineers a robotic platform (‘Autoinjector’) that can
scan and image Drosophila embryos in arrays of egg laying plates. We will utilize machine learning algorithms
for automated detection of embryos, followed by thresholding and morphology analysis to detect embryo
centroids and annotate injection sites. In AIM 2, we will utilize microprocessor-controlled fluidic circuits for
programmatic delivery of femtoliter to nanoliter volumes of reagents into individual embryos. We will quantify
the efficacy of the Autoinjector by comparing the survival, fertility, and transformation rates of transposon or
PhiC31-mediated transgenesis to manual microinjection datasets. Finally, we will demonstrate the efficient
delivery of sgRNAs and mutagenesis in the presence of Cas9. This project fits very well within the goals of the
program by engineering a novel tool for producing and improving animal models. The Autoinjector will
accelerate Drosophila research and empower scientists to perform novel experiments and genome-scale
functional genomics screens that are currently too inefficient or labor intensive to be conducted on a large
scale and may additionally enable other novel future applications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9989196
- **Project number:** 5R21OD028214-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Daryl Gohl
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $222,618
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-15 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9989196

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9989196, Image-guided robot for high-throughput microinjection of Drosophila embryos (5R21OD028214-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9989196. Licensed CC0.

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