Placenta on a chip: A humanized platform for testing of pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals

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The human placenta is a complex organ that controls the health of the baby and also impacts**the health of the mother. Signals from the cells that form the barrier between mother and fetus**can program the babies health after it is born or control whether the baby is born**prematurely. 1 in 9 babies are born prematurely and this can lead to many health problems in**later life. It is difficult to study this barrier in animal models or humans because of the**complexity of the placenta. Our research will develop a placenta on a chip; a micro-device**that mimics a small section of the human placenta in 3D. We will develop special surfaces**that allow the stem cells of the placenta to behave as though they were in their natural**environment within the womb. This portable placenta will be the first example of such a**device that brings together the important cells of the placenta and simulates the proper**oxygen levels and blood flow that would exist in the human placenta. This device will be very**useful in reducing the cost of testing drugs to see if they would be harmful to the mother or**fetus and also help to reduce the number of animals that are used in drug testing. Importantly,**we will also verify whether this device predicts the biological responses of actual placental**tissues when treated with environmental toxins; something that no one has evaluated. We will**easily and inexpensively be able to identify whether certain chemicals are causing the**maternal-fetal barrier to release signals that might harm the baby or cause premature birth.**We have already partnered with Evik Diagnostics, a Canadian company that is interested in**diagnostic testing for conditions that affect the health of the mother and baby in pregnancy.