Chips emulate human organs, could put an end to animal testing
1 min read
Bioengineers from Harvard's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering have created a technology which mimics the mechanical and molecular characteristics of living human organs, such as the lung, heart and intestine.
The microchips, called Organs-on-Chips, comprise a clear flexible polymer about the size of a computer memory stick that contains hollow microfluidic channels lined by living human cells.
By enabling scientists and clinicians to determine the efficacy and safety of potential new drugs, chemicals and cosmetics, the researchers believe the technology could one day form an accurate alternative to traditional animal testing.
Eventually, the Wyss Institute team wants to build ten different human organs-on-chips and link them together on an automated instrument called a 'Human-on-a-Chip' to mimic whole-body physiology.
They have set up a spinoff company called Emulate in order to do this. So far, $12million has been raised through a Series A funding round.
Senior scientist Geraldine Hamilton commented: "This advanced technology is the beginning of a revolution in the way we study human biology and disease, as Emulate sets a new standard for products to be aligned with a complete picture of human biology.
"Emulate's Organs-on-Chips allow living human cells to interact with other cell types within the authentic physical context of living tissues and organs as they would normally in the human body.
"This ability to bioemulate the human organ microenvironment through microengineering – combined with automated instrumentation that permits molecular scale analysis in real-time – allows us to replicate, analyse and predict human responses in a truly unique and powerful way."
