Organ on chip systems have the promise to generate more fundamental insight in diseases and can also serve as a platform for drug testing. Instead of using cell lines, more and more focus is on the use of induced pluripotent stem cells to retrieve more realistic data. Besides that, also the focus is on technological advancements of the microfluidic chips, by integrating electrodes, sensors, valves and new membranes.
Collaborations UT: AMBER (prof. Le Gac), AST (prof. Broersen, prof. Passier and prof. van der Meer), Developmental BioEngineering (prof. Karperien)
Some examples of projects:
Transendothelial electrical resistance measurements
We developed a blood-brain barrier (BBB) on chip, valuable for the screening of newly developed drug compounds, pathological conditions and nanotoxicity research. To be able to measure the barrier integrity, we integrated electrodes in the organ on chip. Using impedance spectroscopy the TEER value can be measured in a reliable manner. New electrode configurations and measurements are currently developed within the NOCI project (PhD: Muriel Holzreuter).
Joint on chip
In the past, the DBE and AMBER groups have developed two Organ on Chip models for joint tissues that are key in arthritis: the cartilage (CoC) and an initial version of the synovial membrane (SoC). Given the complex whole-joint nature of arthritis, which involves a vicious cycle of inflammation and degradation, chondro-synovial crosstalk, a platform that mimics this communication is required. Therefore, this project focuses on the development of a Joint-on-Chip platform containing the previously developed SoC and CoC devices, which is a multi-organ-on-chip that will allow the studying of chondro-synovial crosstalk. The ultimate goal of this Joint-on-Chip platform is to allow multiplexed drug development studies for potential arthritis drugs. (PhD: Laurens Spoelstra, collaboration with DBE and AMBER)
Sensor-mediated detection of organ-organ interaction on chip
This research project aims to develop integrated microfluidic solutions to facilitate in vitro monitoring of organ-organ (complex 3D iPSC cell culture) interaction as a function of their responses. A gut-brain axis developed at the Department of Applied Stem Cell Technologies (AST, UT) will be the model system for this work, with the final concepts also applying to other organ-on-chip applications. Different sensing principles will be investigated to develop integrated microfluidic biosensor solutions for (i) inflammatory and (ii) metabolic biomarkers. This project is part of The Netherlands Organ-On-Chip Initiative Consortium, which is developing new multi-organ approaches to move away from the empirical treatment of symptoms of disease to cures which are based on correcting the underlying cause. (PhD: Tom Erik Pedersen, collaboration with AST)
Project team:
