LEGO® Bricks as Building Blocks for Centimeter-Scale Biological Environments: The Case of Plants
- Iowa State University, Ames, IA (United States)
- Iowa State University, Ames, IA (United States); Ames Laboratory, Ames, IA (United States)
LEGO bricks are commercially available interlocking pieces of plastic that are conventionally used as toys. We describe their use to build engineered environments for cm-scale biological systems, in particular plant roots. Specifically, we take advantage of the unique modularity of these building blocks to create inexpensive, transparent, reconfigurable, and highly scalable environments for plant growth in which structural obstacles and chemical gradients can be precisely engineered to mimic soil.
- Research Organization:
- Ames Laboratory (AMES), Ames, IA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- AC02-07CH11358
- OSTI ID:
- 1627712
- Journal Information:
- PLoS ONE, Vol. 9, Issue 6; ISSN 1932-6203
- Publisher:
- Public Library of ScienceCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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