Microchip for testing nanopreparations

The development of nanopreparations is a very popular research area, including in the development of drugs for the treatment of atherosclerosis. However, very little is known about the behavior of nanoparticles in the vessels affected by this disease. To study this issue, an international group of researchers from the USA, Japan and the Netherlands has developed a microchip that allows modeling the behavior of experimental drugs in "flowing" arteries in atherosclerosis.

Diagram of a device consisting of two microfluidic channels located on top of each other,
separated by a porous membrane (pore diameter of 3 microns) covered with endothelial cells.

In healthy blood vessels, the endothelium acts as a barrier preventing the penetration of compounds contained in the blood into the tissues. In the arteries affected by atherosclerosis, the integrity of the endothelial barrier is disrupted, which leads to abnormal movement of various molecules from the blood to the tissues and back.

The microchip developed by the authors consists of two microfluidic channels separated by a membrane with pores 3 micrometers in diameter, the surface of which is covered with vascular endothelial cells. This membrane plays the role of the "flowing" endothelium of atherosclerotic vessels.

Experiments on the accumulation of nanoparticles in the arteries of a large animal model of atherosclerosis (rabbits) have shown that the results obtained are comparable with the results obtained using a new microchip, which indicates the possibility of its use for screening of nanoparticles and their optimization.

The structure of the microchip allows you to regulate the permeability of the endothelial layer by changing the speed of the flow washing cells in the microfluidic channel simulating an artery, or by introducing compounds synthesized by the body in inflammatory conditions into it. At the same time, the change in the permeability of microchip cells is comparable to the change in the permeability of cells affected by atherosclerosis of rabbit arteries under appropriate conditions.

The developers hope that the microchip they have created will accelerate the process of developing nanopreparations by more effectively predicting the therapeutic effects of experimental compounds. They also note that, despite the obvious advantages of the microchip in comparison with traditional laboratory models, it does not allow to accurately simulate what is happening in a living organism. However, in any case, its use will reduce financial costs and reduce the number of animals used in experiments.

Article by YongTae Kim et al. Probing nanoparticle translocation across the permeable endothelium in experimental atherosclerosis is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru based on the materials of Georgia Institute of Technology:
In Vitro Innovation: Testing Nanomedicine With Blood Cells On A Microchip.

06.02.2014