A Robotic Surgery Approach to Mitochondrial Transfer Amongst Single Cells

Introducing alterations in the mtDNA sequence is challenging but needed for potential therapies and basic studies. Direct microinjection of mitochondria into small cells has been considered inefficient and impractical. To address this issue, we present a highly efficient and precise robotic approach for automatically transferring mitochondria from one single cell to another. A microfluidic cell positioning device is used to pattern two different types of cells in one dimensional array, and an image processing algorithm is applied to identify the location of the mitochondria and cell. A visual feedback control mechanism is developed to enhance the mitochondrial extraction efficiency. A robust adaptive sliding control algorithm is developed to precisely control an X-Y stage to accomplish the extraction of mitochondria from A type cell followed by injection of the mitochondria into B type cell automatically. The system can transfer mitochondria from one cell to another with an average duration of 15 s/mitochondria. Experiments of mitochondrial transfer from THPI and NB4 cells to THPI cells and fibroblasts are conducted to show the effectiveness of the developed approach.