Microfluidic In Vitro Platform for (Nano)Safety and (Nano)Drug Efficiency Screening

Abstract

Microfluidic technology is a valuable tool for realizing more in vitro models capturing cellular and organ level responses for rapid and animal‐free risk assessment of new chemicals and drugs. Microfluidic cell‐based devices allow high‐throughput screening and flexible automation while lowering costs and reagent consumption due to their miniaturization. There is a growing need for faster and animal‐free approaches for drug development and safety assessment of chemicals (Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemical Substances, REACH). The work presented describes a microfluidic platform for in vivo‐like in vitro cell cultivation. It is equipped with a wafer‐based silicon chip including integrated electrodes and a microcavity. A proof‐of‐concept using different relevant cell models shows its suitability for label‐free assessment of cytotoxic effects. A miniaturized microscope within each module monitors cell morphology and proliferation. Electrodes integrated in the microfluidic channels allow the noninvasive monitoring of barrier integrity followed by a label‐free assessment of cytotoxic effects. Each microfluidic cell cultivation module can be operated individually or be interconnected in a flexible way. The interconnection of the different modules aims at simulation of the whole‐body exposure and response and can contribute to the replacement of animal testing in risk assessment studies in compliance with the 3Rs to replace, reduce, and refine animal experiments.

Pharmacokinetics of PEGylated Gold Nanoparticles: In Vitro—In Vivo Correlation

“…In addition, the 16HBE cells were exposed to PEG-AuNPs (5 µg mL −1 ) under dynamic flow conditions using a microfluidic in vitro platform described in [ 26 ]. The flow rate of the medium was 100 µL h −1 .…”

Nanosafety: An Evolving Concept to Bring the Safest Possible Nanomaterials to Society and Environment

“…While most of the integrated sensing OoC platforms have been developed for the purpose of physiology or disease modeling (including cancer) and drug testing, their application to (nano)toxicology is possible and foreseen. So far, the focus has been mostly placed on the integrated monitoring of the microenvironment conditions of the OoC, such as temperature, pH, and oxygen levels, as well as on the establishment of a cohesive barrier function (transepithelial electric resistance (TEER)) ( Table 4 ) [ 169 , 172 , 174 , 175 , 178 , 179 , 180 ]. Interestingly, HT measurements of some of these parameters have recently been achieved [ 181 ].…”

Dual-Targeted Nanoplatform Regulating the Bone Immune Microenvironment Enhances Fracture Healing

“…Research has highlighted the promising use of nanomedicine in osteogenic differentiation, with recent years seeing a surge in the development of nanomedicines for bone repair, in an effort to overcome the weaknesses of currently available strategies. − A number of nano drug delivery systems (DDS) have been designed to effectively locally deliver various drugs into fracture sites, with improved drug concentration and decreased side-effects. − Moreover, targeted drug delivery systems have been designed to enhance the therapeutic effects via surface modifications of specific recognition ligands. − Despite extensive strides, the field is still in its infancy, exemplified by a scarcity of effective nanomedicines for bone repair.…”