Plant-On-a-Disc (POD): A Phytofluidic platform enabling In Situ Root Analysis

Abstract

Phytofluidic platforms have enabled controlled studies of plant roots, however, most existing systems either impose geometric confinement without flow or introduce hydrodynamics in single-channel devices that limit throughput and disrupt downstream analysis. New experimental platforms are therefore needed to investigate how roots integrate mechanical confinement and hydrodynamic nutrient transport, two defining features of the rhizosphere that remain difficult to reproduce under controlled laboratory conditions. Here, we present the Plant-on-a-Disc (POD), a phytofluidic platform that enables the parallel cultivation of eight seedlings under controlled hydrodynamic conditions while allowing non-invasive, in situ multimodal analysis of the intact root-shoot system. The device is fabricated in PDMS using a cost-effective wire-drawing technique to generate radial microchannels that converge into a central sump beneath an optical window. This design enables sequential bright-field, fluorescence, and Raman measurements using a single microscope objective without disturbing neighbouring seedlings. Dimensionless transport analysis and finite-element modelling confirm that the radial architecture equalizes hydraulic resistance across channels, establishing creeping laminar flow with convection-dominated nutrient transport under physiologically safe shear conditions. Using Brassica seedlings, we show that hydrodynamic flow drives coordinated root responses across multiple scales. Roots grown in flow condition exhibit accelerated elongation, substantial ROS generation and anisotropic cortical cell expansion, accompanied by carotenoid signatures detected by Raman spectroscopy.