Temperature control is crucial for live cell imaging, particularly in studies involving plant responses to high ambient temperatures and thermal stress. This study presents the design, development, and testing of two cost-effective heating devices tailored for confocal microscopy applications: an aluminum heat plate and a wireless mini-heater. The aluminum heat plate, engineered to integrate seamlessly with the standard 160 mm × 110 mm microscope stage, supports temperatures up to 36°C, suitable for studies in the range of non-stressful warm temperatures (e.g., 25-27°C forArabidopsis thaliana) and moderate heat stress (e.g., 30-36°C forA. thaliana). We also developed a wireless mini-heater that offers rapid, precise heating directly at the sample slide, with a temperature increase rate over 30 times faster than the heat plate. The wireless heater effectively maintained target temperatures up to 50°C, ideal for investigating severe heat stress and heat shock responses in plants. Both devices performed well in controlled studies, including the real-time analysis of heat shock protein accumulation and stress granule formation inA. thaliana. Our designs are effective and affordable, with total construction costs lower than $300. This accessibility makes them particularly valuable for small laboratories with limited funding. Future improvements could include enhanced heat uniformity, humidity control to mitigate evaporation, and more robust thermal management to minimize focus drift during extended imaging sessions. These modifications would further solidify the utility of our heating devices in live cell imaging, offering researchers reliable, budget-friendly tools for exploring plant thermal biology.
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Direct writing of microheater for studying plant thermal biology
Microheaters have drawn extensive attention for their substantial applications in thermotherapy, gas sensors, thin film preparation, biological research, etc. In plant physiology, uncovering the mechanisms by which plants sense and respond to environmental temperature fluctuations will help us better understand the impact of climate change on crop yield and ecosystem resilience. Currently, microheaters with long-term heating capability have rarely been applied to investigate plant thermal responses. In this study, we applied a direct writing technique to fabricate microheaters suitable for studying plant thermal biology with silver conductive ink. The optimal printing conditions and the heating performance (e.g., stability, durability, reusability) of the printed heaters were thoroughly characterized. The printed microheaters can provide stable and constant heating to plant organs for over four days. When placed near plant leaves to create localized heating, the microheater could successfully activate the expression of a thermoresponsive marker gene in plants. These results demonstrate the potential of applying printed microheaters to study plant thermal biology at the organ and tissue level.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2200200
- PAR ID:
- 10483442
- Publisher / Repository:
- Elsevier Ltd on behalf of Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Manufacturing Letters
- Volume:
- 35
- Issue:
- S
- ISSN:
- 2213-8463
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 725 to 731
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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