XenoWorks® XWI Electric Microinjector

XenoWorks®
XWI Electric Microinjector

• Product Description
• Specifications
• Pricing
• Technical Information

XenoWorks® XWI Electric Microinjector is a versatile hydraulic microinjector designed for microinjection workflows as well as stereotaxic and other tissue injections. The XWI utilizes a stepper motor linear actuator to drive the piston, enabling precise and repeatable injections against a column of hydraulic fluid, thereby generating reliable fluid movement in the injection pipette. With a maximum travel of 500 µL for the XWI actuator, the injector can perform multiple injections before the reservoir requires refilling.

For microinjection workflows, users can manually operate the injector using the rotary encoder on the controller, directly controlling injection and aspiration. The injection rate in manual mode spans three orders of magnitude, with fluid displacement rates ranging from 3.1 µL/revolution to 70 nL/revolution across five discrete steps. The mechanical portion of the injector is separated from the controller, allowing users to operate the injector without introducing vibration during preparation.

Manual operation of the XWI is suitable for a variety of applications, including:

• Pronuclear injection
• Holding force generation
• Nuclear transfer
• Preimplantation genetic testing
• Embryonic stem cell injection
• Xenopus oocyte injection
• Embryo injection
• Polar body biopsy
• Blastocyst injection
• Single-cell picking

For stereotaxic and other tissue injections, the XWI features a programmable automatic mode with injection and aspiration rates between 1 nL/s and 10 µL/s. Unlike other nanoliter injectors, the XWI can be easily configured to use injection pipettes made from glass capillaries with outer diameters between 1.0 and 1.2 mm, regardless of inner diameter. The XWI micropipette holder can be mounted onto all commercially available stereotaxic frames with standard adapters. For other tissue injections, the micropipette holder can be comfortably held in one hand while operating the controller with the other hand or with the included footswitch. Alternatively, the micropipette holder fits standard rod holders for most micromanipulators and can be mounted on any Sutter Instrument micromanipulator. Using glass pipettes as microinjection needles (instead of metal syringes) minimizes damage to the target tissue. It also allows the use of needles with smaller outer diameters (as small as 4 µm inner diameter), improving targeting and specificity. In automatic mode, the XWI can be programmed to dispense volumes from 1 nL to 500 µL in a single programmed injection.

Automatic operation of the XWI Microinjector is suitable for any application that might use pneumatic, hydraulic, or syringe pump injectors, including:

• Stereotaxic injection
• Neural injection
• (Xeno)transplantation
• Subretinal injection
• Intravitreal injection
• Intrathecal and spinal cord injection
• Round window and semicircular canal injection
• Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) sampling
• Fluid control dispensing

The XWI Electric Microinjector can also be controlled via USB from a computer using user-designed software, utilizing the freely available Sutter Instrument driver and software development kit.

Features
• Multiple modes of operation: manual, automatic, and USB control
• Versatile applications from in vitro fertilization to stereotaxic injection
• Accurate and repeatable injection and aspiration
• High resolution and dynamic range
• Automatic dispensing volumes from 1 nL to 500 µL
• Real-time volume readout
• Ergonomic controller for comfortable operation
• Footswitch to trigger programmed injections
• Minimum micropipette tip size of 4 µm
• Remote operation to minimize vibration