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Researchers in Japan have developed a chip that mimics human organs, a technology that could test the efficacy and side effects of drugs and speed the development of new drugs.
Hiroshi Kimura, a lecturer at Tokai University, and Teruo Fujii, a professor at the University of Tokyo, successfully replicated how a cancer medication absorbed by the bowel is metabolized in the liver and reaches areas affected by lung cancer, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday. The chip is used to culture human cells on a palm-sized plastic substrate.
The researchers created tiny chambers to cultivate bowel, liver and lung cells on the substrate and connected these with channels that simulated blood vessels, using etching technology developed for semiconductors.
When a liquid solution that simulates blood is circulated with a pump, the drug absorbed by the bowel cells goes to the liver cells and then reaches the lung cells.
In one experiment, the research team tested the efficacy of Irinotecan, a cancer drug metabolized in the liver.
Developing new treatments often requires animal testing to confirm the efficacy and safety of drugs before they can be administered to people. But animal testing has limits: A drug may not work the same way in a human as it does in an animal. And rights groups are opposed to many types of testing on animals.
The researchers hope to put the organs-on-chips technology to practical use within five years. Similar work is also underway in the United States, led by the National Institutes of Health.
