Vanderbilt advances ‘organ-on-a-chip’ research
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Posted on 21/10/2015
Have you ever doubted that the chemical sprays or detergents used in the environment are really safe for us? The invention and application of an “organ on a chip” is recently working on a novel way to test toxins and drugs. Researchers nowadays are developing a “microbrain on a chip” to study the most crucial components in human – brain. Creating a microbrain bioreactor to research how the cells respond exposing to toxins, disease organisms or new drugs is a high cost but efficient method to test the new drugs or the reaction about human brain. Traditionally, researchers use cell cultures, animals and human testing to develop new drugs. With this chip, we can observe the side effect and utility of a new drug and not hurting the animal. However, the brain is an extremely difficult target for drug development as it is surrounded by three barriers protecting it from molecular or cellular intruders. These barriers block potentially harmful molecules and alter the chemistry of the compounds that they let through. Thus, by using a microbrain on a chip, we can deeply look insights into how the brain receives, modifies and is affected by drugs or disease agents. Finally, we can design ideal drugs with little or no side-effect.
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microbrain-on-a-chip[/caption]
Comment: Currently, “organ on a chip” is widely used in all kinds of biosensors and biotechnology. This invention reduces the cost of biological tests and enhances the efficiency of them. Assume that we apply this inspiring technology into different organ to understand the function and reaction of them while receiving stimuli; it will be really useful for research. In sum, the ultimate goal of “organ on a chip” is to abolish the need for animals in drug development and toxin testing.
Reference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ-on-a-chip#Human-on-a-chip