In a joint project, the Harvard University Wyss Institute, Harvard Medical School, and Children's Hospital Boston, have created a micro-sized artificial lung using computer industry technology, tissue engineering techniques and human cells. The translucent micro-lung, which is about the size of a rubber eraser, uses human lung and blood vessel cells to potentially use in medical research, with applications for testing environmental toxins, absorption of aerosol therapeutics and new drug effectiveness.
Though it is proposed as a more rapid and cheaper method to test drugs, the fact that it can replace some animal testing is one of the best features of this invention.
“The ability of the lung-on-a-chip device to predict absorption of airborne nanoparticles and mimic the inflammatory response triggered by microbial pathogens provides proof-of-principle for the concept that organs-on-chips could replace many animal studies in the future," explained Donald Ingber, senior author of the study and founding director of Harvard's Wyss Institute.
In a human lung, the alveoli air pockets transfer oxygen through a thin, flexible, permeable lung cell membrane into the bloodstream. Three-layered lung cells and capillary blood vessel cells then recognize bacteria or toxins, activating an immune response.
The lung-on-a-chip uses two layers of living tissue, the lining of the lung's air sacs and blood vessels, to form a porous boundary. Air enters the micro-device and the capillary channel carries a culture medium that mimics blood, with breathing simulated mechanically by stretching the membrane.
The Wyss Institute is working on other micro sensor innovations such as a gut-on-a-chip, bone marrow and cancer models, possibly even combining organs such as a beating heart-on-a-chip.
Even though it sounds a little like micro-Frankensteins, anything that reduces animal lab experiments is to be applauded.
Visit: http://wyss.harvard.edu/
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written by _mark , January 26, 2011