Development of scalable microfluidic device for drug testing using humanized adipose tissue spheroids

In regenerative medicine, in vitro tissue engineering products (3D cell cultures) for in vivo therapy are critical for more accurate and more humane medical innovation.

Tissue engineered scaffold-free 3D models that exhibit functional hallmarks of native tissues improve our search for biomarkers, drug testing/development and toxicology with more accurate models, while supporting the development of alternative methods to animal use in drug testing, as stated by the Directive (2010/63/EU) established the European Centre for the validation of alternative methods (ECVAM).

To replace animal testing, it is important to develop microphysiological systems and ‘body-on-chip’ approaches that allow to account for organ-to-organ interactions in vitro, at a reasonable cost.

Yet, most current bioreactors are expensive, designed for organ transplant (thus focused on a single organ) and poorly designed for miniaturization and scale-up.

In SMD-SPH, we will develop a microphysiological systems with the following design requirement: a 3D cell culture model, with a continuous and controllable perfusion system for continuous contact with morphogens (growth factors) to obtain a functional native tissue and monitoring crucial parameters of cell physiology, compatible with scale-up manufacturing.

To the best of our knowledge, it is the first time in scientific literature that human adipose tissue-derived stem cells are used to build human white adipose tissue in a novel and scalable microphysiological system.

This project meets the convergence of microfluidics and scaffold-free 3D culture models offering a reliable alternative for drug and toxicology assays, besides offer a scalable and reproductible system for future integration into a human-on-a-chip and high-troughput assays.

Once an initial prototype is obtained, we will start dissemination to stakeholders and seek early adopters, cosmetic industries.