We do injections everyday. While we’ve gotten pretty good at them, they don’t always go as planned.
What does it mean if an injection has gone awry, and how can you tell? What does an unsuccessful injection look like?
The two videos above illustrate what a successful injection (left) looks like, and what an unsuccessful injection (right) could look like. Notice how the needle in the successful injection enters the worm gently, and only does so once, whereas in the unsuccessful video the injection needle pierces the worm once before moving and injecting at a different point on the worm. The injection is aggressive and the M9 is released in spurts instead of all at once.
While we will always be here to support you and assist with your injection needs, we also want to help you ensure you’re as prepared as possible to have a high success rate with your injections.
We’ve nailed it down to five simple steps you need to take to improve your injection success.
- Place worm on agar slide coated in a drop of oil. Pat down worm to keep from moving.
- Arrange slide on the micro-injection rig at an angle to the needle and lower the needle to align with the gonad.
- Pierce the gonad with the needle in a smooth and quick movement, pull back the needle until centered.
- Push the pedal to release the injection mix into the gonad with good flow throughout.
- Dial back the needle and remove worm from the slide to remove the oil and recover in M9.
Next time when you inject, be sure to follow these 5 steps and see if you notice any difference. If you are still having trouble, we are always here to support you and assist with your injection needs.
Learn more about our C. elegans transgenic services and C. elegans custom injection service.
