Next generation organ-chip models - integrating 3D mechano-predictive environments

该项目专注于在器官芯片模型中开发、验证和采用3D矩阵环境，以探索局部物理细胞环境对表型和生化挑战反应的影响。它将探索器官芯片环境中的物理细胞生态位如何调节炎症和退化，设计和构建不同刚度和结构的3D矩阵，以探索对细胞行为和炎症启动的影响，器官芯片是一种微尺度工程系统，重建活体人体器官的结构、功能和理化环境，能够体外探索器官健康、疾病驱动因素，并使新疗法的测试成为可能。该技术对推动3R倡议的重要性已经引起了非常重大的工业兴趣，因为器官芯片具有彻底改变制药业的潜力。器官芯片已经被用于探索药物毒性和支持疫苗研究，然而，在设计身体结构器官中所见的复杂3D细胞小生境方面仍然存在挑战，其中外部施加的力学严重影响器官内的表型和疾病状态。

The project focuses on developing, validating and adopting 3D matrix environments within organ-chip models to explore the impact of local physical cell environment on phenotype and response to biochemical challenges.It will explore how inflammation and degeneration can be modulated by the physical cell niche within organ-chip environments, designing and building 3D matrices of different stiffness and architecture to explore the impact on cell behaviour and the initiation of inflammatory, degradatory cell pathways.An organ-chip is a micro-scale engineered system, recreating the architecture, functions and physiochemical environment of living human organs, enabling an in vitro exploration of organ health, drivers of disease, and enabling the testing of new therapeutics.The importance of the technology for driving 3R initiatives has led to very significant industrial interest, as organ-chips have clear potential to revolutionise the pharmaceutical industry.Organ-chips are already been used to explore drug toxicity and to support vaccine research, However, challenges remain in engineering the complex 3D cell niches seen in structural organs of the body, where externally applied mechanics heavily impact phenotype and disease state within an organ.