Top Ten Emerging Technologies in 2016: Simulating the Source of Human Organs on a Chip
Release date: 2016-08-05 Except in Hollywood movies, you can't see human living organs floating in utensils in biological labs. The technical problem of maintaining organ activity in vitro is not mentioned at present, and the living organs that can be used for transplantation are too precious to be used in experiments. However, many important biological studies and drug trials can only be performed by studying normal working organs. A new technology can meet this need. This technology is capable of growing micro-human organs with normal functions on a microchip. In 2010, Donald Ingber of the Wyss Institute at Harvard University developed the world's first chip lung. Commercial companies such as Emulate have followed suit. Emulate's leaders are Ingber and others from the Wise Institute. These companies are working with industry researchers and government agencies, such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). So far, many teams have reported that they have successfully created miniature models of the lungs, liver, kidneys, heart, bone marrow and cornea. Then there are certainly more types of micro-organs. Each chip organ is only about as large as a usb flash. It is made of a flexible translucent polymer. There are also microfluidic tubes with very complicated array patterns, which are less than 1 mm in diameter and placed side by side with human cells taken from the organs. When nutrients, blood, and test compounds (such as experimental drugs) are pumped into a microfluidic tube, the cells reproduce some of the key functions of living organs. The micro-chambers on the chip are arranged to mimic the unique structure of an organ tissue, such as tiny alveoli. The gas passing through the pipeline can simulate the situation when the human body breathes very realistically. At the same time, blood with bacteria is also pumped through other microfluidic tubes. Scientists can observe how cells respond to infections, and this process does not pose a risk to anyone. This technology allows scientists to observe biological mechanisms and physiological behaviors that have never been seen before. Organ microchips can also help new drug development companies. The ability of this technology to match the true human organs allows these companies to conduct more realistic and accurate tests for drug candidates. For example, last year, a team used organ microchips to simulate the process of secretion of hormones from endocrine cells into the bloodstream. They also used this technique to conduct critical tests on a diabetes drug. Other teams are also exploring the use of chip organs in precision medicine. In principle, these microchips can be built with the patient's autologous stem cells, which can then be used to identify personalized therapies that are more likely to be effective for this person. There is reason to believe that mini-organs can greatly reduce the pharmaceutical industry's reliance on animal testing when testing compounds. Every year, millions of animals are sacrificed, and animal testing itself has caused much controversy. Animal testing is also a great waste, regardless of ethical issues. Because animal experiments rarely reliably reflect the body's response to the same drug. Tests performed on mini human organs are much better than animal tests. Researchers engaged in military and biological defenses have seen another life-saving potential for chip organs. Simulated lungs and other similar devices are a big step forward in enabling people to better test the lungs' response to biological, chemical or radiological weapons. Previously, we were unable to conduct research in this area because of ethical issues. Source: Global Science Processed Frozen Tuna,High Grade Tuna,Bigeye Tuna Can,Tuna Chunk in Oil Can Zhejiang ocean family co.,ltd , https://www.ocean-family.com