IFlowPlate - a universal platform for vascularizing organoids

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To improve the precision of drug discovery at the preclinical stage, there is a growing demand for advanced human-based tissue models that complement the use of animals and cell-based assays. In recent years, organoids have emerged as a promising alternative. Organoids derived from stem cells can recapitulate the developmental process and model the biological complexity of an organ. However, most organoid models lack perfusable blood vessel networks which are the most prevalent biological structures that control a wide range of organ functions. To solve this problem, we developed a platform technology (IFlowPlate) that can grow an array of perfusable blood vessel networks to vascularize organoids on demand. Using the platform, we demonstrated that colon organoids and liver spheroids can be vascularized to model complex biological processes, such as intravascular drug and immune cell delivery and inflammatory response. From our initial market assessment, we received overwhelming interest in the technology and have formed multiple collaborations with major pharmaceutical companies and life science reagent distributors. However, there are still a number of engineering design-related questions that we can address to better align our technology with the needs of the end-users. In this proposed research, we seek (AIM 1) to establish uni-directional vascular flow in IFlowPlate, (AIM 2) to access the lumen of organoids for barrier function assays, and (AIM 3) to convert the IFlowPlate from the current 384-well plate format to a 96- or 24- well plate format for academic users. This work will resolve the key concerns from the end-users, significantly expand the application, and better prepare the platform technology for industry adoption. The team has a track record of developing and commercializing innovative tissue culture platforms and plans to commercialize IFlowPlate through a biotech startup company. We have initiated collaboration with multiple pharmaceutic companies and CROs to test our technology and attracted early investments from a venture capital firm.