The research findings were featured as the cover article in the December issue last year of the international scientific journal ‘Advanced Healthcare Materials’. (Image courtesy of KRICT)
SEOUL, Jan. 16 (Korea Bizwire) — The Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT) announced on January 15 that a team led by Dr. Lee Seong-gyun and Dr. Kim Hong-ki has developed new biomimetic organ-on-a-chip technology.
This platform is expected to be highly effective in analyzing chronic inflammation in patients and evaluating the efficacy of therapeutics.
Organ-on-a-chip refers to an in vitro platform technology that mimics complex human organs by culturing various human-derived cells in a three-dimensional environment, roughly the size of a coin.
The research team innovatively designed and produced the organ chip using 3D printing, bypassing semiconductor processes. The chip’s ‘channels’ and the absence of physical structures between them make it easier to observe cell movement.
Using this chip, the team injected plasma from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and were able to closely observe neutrophils, a type of innate immune cell, penetrating blood vessel walls and moving to sites of inflammation.
They were able to precisely measure the quantity and distance of neutrophil movement and assess the level of inflammation. Previously, studies primarily used commercial organ chips to induce or observe neutrophil movement.
This organ chip enables simultaneous experimentation on control and test groups within a single chip, making it suitable for comparative drug evaluation.
It allows for the analysis of a patient’s level of inflammation and can effectively evaluate the efficacy of chronic inflammation treatments, substituting animal testing.This is expected to greatly aid in toxicity assessment and new drug development research.
The KRICT anticipates that this technological development will lead to active collaboration with related companies, capturing key technologies in drug efficacy evaluation and human disease simulation using organ-on-a-chip technology, thus enhancing its practical application prospects.
Following the recent amendment of the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 in the United States, it has become possible to apply for pharmaceutical approval without animal testing data.
The research findings were featured as the cover article in the December issue last year of the international scientific journal ‘Advanced Healthcare Materials’.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
