Organ Chips

February 28, 2023

Context:

Last year, the U.S. government passed the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act 2.0 which is expected to boost the research and development of organ chips.

About Organ Chips:

Organ chips are small devices containing human cells that are used to mimic the environment in human organs, including blood flow and breathing movements, serving as synthetic environments in which to test new drugs.
Scientists at Harvard University developed the first human organ-on-a-chip model in 2010. It was a ‘lung on a chip’ that mimicked biochemical aspects of the lung and its breathing motions.

Human organ-on-a-chip model:

An organ-on-a-chip model is a type of in vitro model that mimics the structure and function of a specific human organ in a microfluidic chip.
These models are designed to provide a more accurate and efficient way to study human physiology and disease compared to traditional cell cultures or animal models.

Application:

Organ-on-a-chip models have the potential to revolutionise drug discovery and toxicology by providing a more physiologically relevant platform for testing drug efficacy and safety.
They may also help to advance personalised medicine by enabling the testing of drugs on patient-specific tissues, and to better understand the underlying mechanisms of disease.

Challenges that led scientists to organ-on-a-chip model:

Limited predictivity of traditional cell cultures: Traditional cell cultures are two-dimensional and lack the complexity and heterogeneity of human tissues, making it difficult to accurately predict how drugs or toxins will behave in the human body.
Ethical concerns and limitations of animal models: Animal models are often used to study human physiology and disease, but there are ethical concerns associated with the use of animals in research, as well as limitations in their ability to accurately replicate human physiology.
High failure rate of drug development: The high failure rate of drug development can be attributed, in part, to the limited predictivity of traditional cell cultures and animal models, which can lead to false positive or false negative results in drug testing.
Lack of understanding of disease mechanisms: Many diseases are poorly understood, making it difficult to develop effective treatments. Organ-on-a-chip models can provide a more physiologically relevant platform to study disease mechanisms and develop targeted therapies.

Organ chips in India:

Researchers in India have developed a skin-on-chip model that is currently being tested for studying skin irritation and toxicity.
Researchers at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) have developed an infection on chip model to recreate a human skin wound infection state. The goal is to mimic an infection that doesn’t heal despite prolonged and repeated antibiotic treatment.

News Source: The Hindu