Filtration & fluid control


vessels forming, and it can be brought on by cancerous tumours that need the blood supply to grow. Cancer cells are formed in a 3D structure in one part of the device and then exposed to another channel that mimics angiogenic circulation. Once the nanoparticles are inserted, researchers can observe how they fare once they encounter these conditions. Because variables inside the body, including flow conditions, can change the properties of the nanoparticles, it’s a question of both whether and in what state they reach the cancer, Labouta explains. “We would be interested in how those nanoparticles behave, or, what are the identities of those nanoparticles [when] they reach a breast cancer cell?”


Microfluidics can also be used to synthesise the nanoparticles themselves, due to the precise level of control over the conditions within a system they allow. For example, you could control the shape and stability of a nanoparticle much more finely. Could insights from research like this eventually inform drug development? Potentially, but there’s still a way to go, says Labouta. “I think we’re still at the very beginning. I think we’re not even close to translation in this case.”


For Haase, creating more models using cultures from different human donors could help us better understand the variability in how disease affects


pregnant women. “That will provide further insight into, for example, how antibodies might be used.”


A new route to market


Placenta-on-a-chip devices promise a more robust and reproducible way of studying human biology than what we’re doing now. That’s probably why so many pharmaceutical companies are interested in them, notes Haase. They can maintain cell culture for longer than explant methods and could be a more effective replacement for animal models – something Labouta says many in the field are working towards. “A few years ago, we were thinking that it would be a dream for microfluidic systems to substitute animal models of testing. It’s still a big challenge to achieve,” Labouta says. The FDA appears to be of the same mind. In a landmark move, the agency recently removed the requirement for new drugs to pass animal trials before being approved. While it may take years to fully transition from animal tests to using chips, Labouta is optimistic that we’re heading in the right direction. “We would need less animal experiments, and also I could be submitting grant proposals without proposing animal experiments,” she says. “I hope that in five years, I will be convincing [funders] that placentation in animals is very different than in humans.” ●


Cordis CP1 Series - Dynamic Pressure Controller


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