Development of a microfluidic 3D vascularized tissue model with integrated electric cell-layer impendance sensing

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Poor efficacy and unpredictable effects are the leading causes of drug removal from the market, costing pharmaceutical companies billions of wasted dollars and putting patients at risk. Poor drug performance in humans is largely because drugs are tested in labs that either grow cells on two dimensional (2D) plastic dishes or use animal models, which poorly mimic human drug responses. Therefore, there is a need for improved cell-based models that could identify and eliminate ineffective and dangerous drugs early in the drug discovery process could have enormous health and economic benefits. To meet this need, we have developed a system capable of recapitulating the complex, three-dimensional structure and function of vascularized tissues, like the brain, liver, and heart. By combining arrays of microfludic channels (to mimic blood vessels) with 3D cell culture (organ tissue) on a single device we are able to recreate artificial human microtissues for quick and low cost early stage drug screening. Potential end-users of this technology, including Pfizer and 3D-Biotek, are interested in using it to model the blood-brain barrier, but require methods to validate that the tissues cultured within our device are physiological. To that end, we plan to implement electrical cell-layer impedance sensing into the existing platform to assess the quality of the artificial blood vessels created within our system. The end result will be a system that is expected to identify ineffective drugs much earlier in the discovery process, thereby saving time and money. Unlike the majority of commercially available microfludic platforms, our invention is unique in its compatibility with standard laboratory equipment and medium- to high-throughput workflow, ensuring ease of implementation into the drug discovery pipeline. The ease of adoption will allow us to directly reach our target end-users (pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and life science companies and research labs) shortly after completion of this project. To meet the significant demand from potential customers, we will form a start-up company to sell the microfludic platform directly to the customers.